Granville County superintendent outlines school consolidations, safety gains and 'tech‑free' days

Stan Whitmore, superintendent of Granville County Public Schools, briefed the Oxford Board of Commissioners on March 10 on district efforts to improve safety, instructional outcomes and long‑term finances as the county adjusts to falling student enrollment.

“We are now down to about 7,500,” Whitmore said, referring to school‑age children in Granville County, down from roughly 9,000 in 2005–06. He said the school system currently enrolls just under 6,000 public‑school students and that declining enrollment, competition from charter schools and private school vouchers have driven a wave of consolidations.

Whitmore said the district will operate six elementary schools in 2026–27 and a total of 13 schools on 12 campuses next year; Wilton Elementary will close and most of its students will be redistricted to nearby Tar River and Mount Energy elementaries. He said consolidation and closures have produced roughly $4 million in recurring savings — about 4–5% of a budget that Whitmore said is “under a hundred million.”

The superintendent emphasized that the board prioritized student safety in the transitions. “We have 15 school resource officers,” Whitmore said, calling it “the best coverage we have ever had,” and singled out School Resource Officer Hargrove for helping calm traffic and mentor students at a local elementary campus.

On instruction, Whitmore said the district exceeded statewide academic growth last year in math and English language arts and reduced its count of low‑performing schools from nine to four. He described a series of policies to limit classroom distractions: a three‑year cell‑phone ban extended last year to high schools and a new schedule of “tech‑free” Tuesdays and Thursdays to emphasize paper‑and‑pencil lessons and hands‑on work.

Whitmore also outlined student engagement initiatives: a summer internship program in which students can earn up to $1,800 for four weeks of work with school departments or local businesses, and a mayor‑for‑a‑day pilot starting in April that will let a rotating J.F. Webb student shadow city officials.

During questions, commissioners asked about job impacts from consolidation. Whitmore said past closures affected more than 350 employees but left only one person who could not be reassigned, and he described use of board policy, rubrics and attrition to reduce involuntary separations.

Whitmore said surplus school properties are handled case‑by‑case: some properties have transferred to the county for recreation use with no sale price, others have been offered for upset bid to private buyers; one vacant Butner STEM Elementary campus has been declared surplus and the county has expressed interest but no transfer has closed.

What’s next: Whitmore said the board will continue to watch enrollment and could use temporary mobile units if a sudden growth surge requires capacity, and he said consolidation has allowed the district to focus limited funds on programs and facility needs.