Catawba County commissioners approve merger creating Catawba Valley School District over public opposition

The Catawba County Board of Commissioners voted 3-2 on April 20, 2026, to adopt a plan to merge Catawba County Schools, Hickory City Schools and Newton‑Conover City Schools into a single countywide unit to be named the Catawba Valley School District, with the merger to take effect on July 1, 2028. The meeting and public hearing took place at the Catawba County Justice Center in Newton.

The vote on Resolution 2026‑10 followed a lengthy public hearing during which dozens of residents spoke against the plan. Opponents asked the Board to pause the process and commission an independent third‑party feasibility study, raised concerns about the proposed method for seating the nine‑member interim Catawba Valley Board of Education, and warned the change could put specialized programs and staff funding at risk. One speaker, Larry Barger, spoke in favor of the merger.

Vice‑Chair Austin Allran moved to pause the merger and order a comprehensive third‑party feasibility study; that motion failed 2-3, with Allran and Commissioner Barbara G. Beatty voting in favor and Chair Randy Isenhower, Commissioner Robert C. Abernethy, Jr. and Commissioner Cole Setzer opposing. Chair Randy Isenhower then moved to approve the resolution; the motion carried 3-2.

The Merger Plan adopted by the Board sets these major terms: the merged administrative unit will be called the Catawba Valley School District (CVSD) and governed by a Catawba Valley Board of Education (CVBOE); the merger’s effective date is July 1, 2028; the county Board of Commissioners will appoint an interim nine‑member CVBOE immediately after State Board approval, comprised of two members from each existing board and three at‑large members; the first election for the CVBOE will be held in November 2030 with staggered four‑year terms thereafter. The plan specifies that local funding per average daily membership to the CVBOE must be at least equivalent to the highest level provided by any of the three units in the prior five years.

The plan preserves several named programs in substantially the same form for the first two academic years following the merger — specifically, the Hickory City Schools Orchestra, Hickory City Schools Advanced Placement Academy, Hickory City Schools Career & Arts Magnet, Newton‑Conover City Schools Discovery High School, Newton‑Conover City Schools Conover School, Catawba County Schools Agricultural Education, and Catawba County Schools Challenger High School — and states there will be no reduction in staffing resulting from the merger for two years after the effective date. It also restricts the existing boards from entering into new or extended contracts beyond the effective date without CVBOE concurrence and prohibits capital improvements over $100,000 by existing boards without CVBOE approval.

Chair Isenhower said he had reviewed merger studies from other counties and cited State Department of Public Instruction enrollment projections as a basis for believing that continued operation of three separate systems with different enrollment trends would perpetuate operating and capital inequities among the systems. Several residents at the hearing disagreed, asking for more independent analysis and a voter referendum; the adopted Merger Plan expressly declines to submit the question to referendum, citing NCGS 115C‑68.1(c).

The Board’s action now sends the Merger Plan forward for the steps described in the resolution and the plan’s transition provisions. Under the plan, the interim CVBOE will be appointed by the county Board of Commissioners on the first Tuesday following State Board approval and will conduct planning, hire counsel, review staffing and recommend organizational placement for employees; the CVBOE is to hire a superintendent no later than July 1, 2028. The first CVBOE election is scheduled for November 2030.

What’s next: the adopted plan will be submitted to the North Carolina State Board of Education as required by statute; the transition period described in the plan runs from State Board approval until the effective date of July 1, 2028. The resolution was adopted by a 3-2 vote and is recorded as Resolution 2026‑10.