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School nurses warn cuts would stretch coverage; educator urges higher teacher pay
Summary
At the May 4 Pitt County commissioners meeting, school nurse Carla Farmer urged the board to preserve 24 nurse positions and protested a proposed elimination of three roles; educator Anshia Fenner told commissioners low teacher pay is driving classroom shortages and asked for budget action to raise wages.
During the public-comment period at the May 4 Pitt County Board of Commissioners meeting, Carla Farmer, who gave her address and identified herself as one of three school nurses affected, said county funding reductions will end her employment on June 30, 2026 and urged commissioners to preserve all 24 school nurse positions in Pitt County Schools.
"Removing these 3 positions does not maintain the status quo. It increases the strain and the risk," Farmer said, describing current workloads in which each school nurse covers roughly 1,000 students—she contrasted that with a recommended ratio of one nurse per 750 students and said the proposed cuts would force reassignment across six schools and create unavoidable gaps in coverage.
An educator, Anshia Fenner, also spoke during public comment, saying she marched with thousands of educators and asked that the county pass a budget that enables teachers to earn a living wage. "North Carolina is ranked 46 in the nation for teacher pay," Fenner said, and she urged investment so teachers can remain in classrooms rather than leaving the state for better pay.
Context from staff presentation: County Manager Janice Gunner later told the board that the proposed budget "does not backfill state or federal funding, for Chromebooks or nurses," indicating the manager's recommendation does not include restoring federal- or state-funded positions that are lost due to external funding changes. The board set budget workshops and a public hearing to discuss these and other budget priorities.
No formal board action on school-nurse positions was recorded at the meeting; the subject was presented as public comment and will be part of ongoing budget discussions and workshops.
Source: public comments by Carla Farmer and Anshia Fenner to the Pitt County Board of Commissioners, May 4, 2026.
