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Craven County Schools board confronts $3.8 million shortfall; staff cuts, school reorganization among options
Summary
At a special budget work session, Craven County Schools officials outlined a projected $3.8 million local shortfall for 2026–27 and presented scenarios — including position reductions, restructuring virtual academy code, and school consolidations — to reduce the district's local fund request to county commissioners.
Craven County Board of Education members met in a special-called budget work session to review draft local and capital budgets after Finance Officer Heidi Daley presented a projected local deficit of about $3.8 million for fiscal year 2026–27.
"Based on the revenue we have and the draft expenditures, we are budgeting to spend $30,257,299 against revenue of $26,446,000, leaving us a deficit of $3,800,000," Heidi Daley said, walking the board through revenue and expenditure assumptions including a 3 percent inflation estimate, a half-percent increase in retirement contributions and higher health-insurance costs.
The board discussed several levers to reduce the local fund balance appropriation: collapsing positions identified in a position audit, converting certain roles currently paid locally into state-funded slots where possible, restructuring the virtual academy (CVA) from a state-coded school into a program to capture two years of principal salary support, and targeted school closures or consolidations.
Daley demonstrated an interactive budget decision tool showing current position overages of approximately $1.1 million in local-paid positions and $3.7 million in state-paid overages; model scenarios reduced the fund-balance appropriation in preliminary runs from $3.8 million toward roughly $2.5 million depending on which positions were adjusted.
Superintendent Dr. Cheeseman described a recent open-book exercise with department leaders that identified roughly $235,689 in immediate nonpersonnel savings and urged the board to weigh impacts carefully: "This is not an actionable item today," he said, adding staff would return with refined options.
Board members pressed on which positions to protect. One member argued for guarding counselors and assistant principals; another noted statutory guidance and funding shortfalls from the state. A staff member warned reductions and the timing of reviews could create "a culture of fear" among employees as contract-renewal and licensure deadlines approach.
Daley and Dr. Cheeseman emphasized the difference between discussion and formal action: the session was intended to return a refined draft on April 14 and, if necessary, a budget request to the county commissioners by May 4. No final cuts were approved at the meeting.
Next steps: Daley will present a more refined local current expense and capital budget at the April 14 work session; the board directed staff to model impacts, gather principal-level plans for potential role-sharing, and include likely consequences of proposed reductions for staffing and student services.
