Superintendent recommends closing UR/Warrior Ridge 6–12; board sets public hearing for March 9

Superintendent Dr. Ganey told the Randolph County Board of Education on Feb. 16 that a study of the UR/Warrior Ridge 6–12 campus shows sustained enrollment decline and underutilized capacity, and he recommended the board consider closing the campus at the conclusion of the 2025–26 school year. The board voted to schedule a public hearing on the proposal for March 9 at 6:00 p.m.

The study, prepared with outside analysts from an operations research and education lab and NC State, documented a decline to 369 students as of Oct. 1 and projected enrollment continuing to drop over the next decade. Dr. Ganey said the campus — which opened in 2003 with a capacity of 660 and converted to a 6–12 model in recent years — “is severely underutilized” and that closing the school would produce system savings. “Closure … will lead to a savings of approximately $1,300,000,” he said during his presentation.

Dr. Ganey walked the board through the study’s findings: historical enrollment numbers and the 1-to-1 technology and CTE pathways that were part of the campus’s initial design; the forecasted 10-year enrollment projections prepared by an outside research group; academic performance metrics that place the campus in the state’s intervention framework in some years; and the practical impacts on students and staff if the school closed.

Under the plan described, most current middle-school students (grades 6–7 now) would be reassigned to Southwest Randolph Middle School and most current grades 8–11 (who would be in high school next year) would be reassigned to Southwest Randolph High School. Dr. Ganey said special-education services would be accommodated, student academic records would transfer, and bus transportation would be available for students assigned to their new zoned schools. He also noted that average home-to-school travel distances would increase; the presentation compared current middle-school home-to-school averages of 8.11 miles to 12.45 miles if reassigned, and high-school averages from 7.59 miles to 13.33 miles for some students.

Board members questioned staffing and financial details. Dr. Ganey said the 6–12 model required additional positions beyond what enrollment alone would generate and estimated average position cost (salary plus benefits) at roughly $80,000; closing the campus could allow redistribution of staff or reductions through attrition. The superintendent emphasized the recommendation is intended to address projected state funding reductions and the district’s budget shortfall.

Parents and community members urged the board to hear from affected families. Public commenter Rebecca McClendon described her daughter’s improved attendance and engagement at UR Ridge and said, “I really hope y’all take in consideration not closing the school because it is very detrimental in our community.” Another commenter, Rachel Staley, recounted difficulties enrolling a child with Tourette’s and praised UR Ridge staff for securing services and support.

Legal counsel advised the board on the statutory process for closing a school: a thorough study, a public hearing with adequate notice and opportunity for comment, and then a vote. The board moved to schedule the public hearing, with a motion from a board member and a second; the board voted in favor and set the hearing for March 9 at 6:00 p.m. in the board meeting room.

The hearing will give families, staff and community members an opportunity to present testimony; board members indicated they expect to listen to public comment that night and consider a decision afterward at a subsequent meeting. The superintendent said documents relied on for the study (the Randolph County School System land-use study, the outside enrollment forecast, and an email from the outside analyst with grade-level detail) will be posted and were attached to the public record for the study.

The board’s scheduling of a public hearing starts the statutorily required public-notice phase but does not itself decide whether to close the school; any decision to close would require a later formal vote by the board.