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Craven County Schools ask commissioners for $3.8 million amid enrollment drop and state budget uncertainty
Summary
Superintendent Dr. Matthew Cheeseman and CFO Heidi Daly asked Craven County commissioners to increase the school operating appropriation by about $3.8 million and to consider capital funding, citing a decade‑long enrollment decline, exhausted reserves and large state budget uncertainty that could force cuts including 21+ state‑funded positions.
Dr. Matthew Cheeseman, superintendent of Craven County Schools, told the Board of Commissioners on May 4 that the district needs local support to respond to falling enrollment, aging buildings and uncertainty in the state budget. "We are going to start working on developing a 10‑year capital plan," Cheeseman said, and invited commissioners to tour schools to see facility needs firsthand.
The presentation, followed by a detailed finance briefing from Chief Finance Officer Heidi Daly, framed the district's request as a combination of operating and capital needs. Daly said the district is projecting an operating request of 29,346,954 and a capital outlay request of 3,543,576 as presented to commissioners. She warned that North Carolina had not passed a comprehensive state budget for 2025–26 and said, "we're the only state in the US without a budget for this fiscal year," leaving local planning vulnerable to midyear adjustments.
Daly described a planning‑allotment shortfall of roughly $1.7 million compared with the 2025–26 planning allotments — a gap she said translates to about 21 positions in the state allotment. She told commissioners the district had already cut about $1.4 million through zero‑based reviews and right‑sizing but that the operating position currently shows expenditures exceeding revenues by about $3.8 million, leaving an available fund balance of roughly $2.7 million after restricted amounts are removed.
School leaders identified three priorities: building teacher and administrator pipelines to address staffing shortages; student and staff wellness efforts; and facilities work to address many buildings more than 50 years old. Cheeseman said the accountability model used by the state — an "80/20" proficiency‑versus‑growth split — also affects community perceptions and enrollment decisions.
On potential savings, Daly said closing a school can cut roughly 25% of costs tied to students and operations; she gave an example estimate of about $600,000 in savings if a particular facility were sold and removed from the district's portfolio, but noted fixed costs and program obligations limit immediate savings.
Public commenters who signed up before the meeting tied into the budget case. Paul Hill urged the county to fund an updated facility engineering study and a targeted strategy to reduce excess buildings. Christy Frasier criticized the board of education's leadership and argued prior decisions contributed to reserve depletion and enrollment loss. Glenn Fink asked that the board of education presentation be made publicly available and urged attention to central‑office staffing.
Next steps: Commissioners heard the request and asked follow‑up questions about head counts and assumptions; no appropriations were voted at the May 4 meeting. The school system said it will deliver a required five‑year facility survey by the end of June and requested continued collaboration as state budget developments unfold.
