Richmond County board pauses Lerby closure study after heated public comment and superintendent briefing

Parents and residents pressed the Richmond County Schools Board of Education on budget-driven school consolidation plans, and the board voted to rescind a previously authorized study focused on Lerby Middle School pending a broader review.

At public comment, resident Brad Webb told the board he spoke for "over 200 members of this community who signed a petition in support of LB Middle School" and warned that "decisions like this must be handled carefully, transparently, and with all options fully explored." Another parent, Olivia Webb, said the district’s online question process appeared to vet and selectively answer inquiries and urged the board to ensure equity and full public disclosure.

Superintendent Dr. Frell apologized to the community for presenting only a single option at an earlier work session and said he should have laid out all of the options at once. He described the district’s financial situation, saying Richmond County Schools currently spends about $1 million a year from its fund balance and that the fund balance has fallen to just under $2 million. He told the board the district has lost roughly 1,000 students since its last school closure and expects another decline that will reduce state funding by about $770,000 for the 2026–27 school year.

Frell said administration has already used attrition to reduce roughly $3 million in positions over two years and has cut central-office roles and some school-level positions. He reviewed several options that a facility study could examine, including closure or consolidation studies for Lerby Middle School and West Rockingham Elementary and relocation or consolidation of the Ashley Chapel alternative school. He cautioned that state class-size law (115C-301) constrains combinations of classrooms and could require adding classroom capacity and redistricting if closures occur.

On the board floor, members debated whether to suspend the Lerby-focused study, broaden it to include other schools, or leave it in place until the administration completes further analysis. Board member Bobby Sue moved to reconsider (rescind) the prior instruction to conduct a Lerby closure study; the motion was seconded and carried. The transcript does not record a precise roll-call tally for that rescission vote; the record indicates the motion passed and the superintendent said he would not begin the Lerby study until the board approves a revised, comprehensive list of items to study.

The superintendent told the board he would post the facility study, related slides and a portal for public suggestions to the district website and return in May with an expanded menu of options and cost estimates. The board also discussed potential savings strategies the administration listed — cutting assistant principal positions, further reducing instructional-coach roles funded by federal Title I, consolidating middle-school athletics and examining redistricting enabled by the planned LJ Bell replacement school — but no specific personnel actions were taken at the meeting.

The board’s next steps are procedural: collect board and public suggestions, let administration compile a comprehensive list of study items and return to the board at the May meeting with that package. If the board formally directs a study later, that study would then proceed according to the board’s instructions.