Cumberland County Schools officials on Friday outlined a consolidation proposal that could affect eight schools and generate about $31 million in long-term maintenance savings.
The proposal, presented by Kevin Coleman, associate superintendent of auxiliary services, is intended to address aging facilities, underutilized buildings, and rising maintenance costs, while improving safety and efficiency across the school system.
“This is not about voting for anything,” Coleman said. “It’s about discussion. Our job is to bring it forward with a proposal—and then it’s your job to take a look at it and do what you think is right for the school system.”
Schools Recommended for Closure
- Brentwood Elementary
- Margaret Willis Elementary
- Alger B. Wilkins High School
- Manchester Elementary
- Sherwood Park Elementary
- Stedman Elementary
- Anne Chesnutt Middle School
- Ramsey Street High School
Additional Closure Tied to Construction Timeline
Reid Ross Classical School—recommended to close one year ahead of the planned demolition and rebuild of E.E. Smith High School.
Schools Recommended for Consolidation/Merger
Under the proposal, students from the affected schools would be reassigned to nearby campuses as part of the district’s consolidation strategy. District officials said specific receiving schools, attendance boundaries, and transportation plans would be determined in later phases of the planning process.
District officials said the aim of the consolidation plan is not to simply reduce the number of schools without replacement. Instead, the proposal combines school closures with new construction, meaning some campuses would close while new schools are built to absorb students. In several scenarios presented, one new school would replace two older campuses as part of the district’s long-term facilities strategy.
Eric Bracy, superintendent of Cumberland County Schools, said the consolidation push is partly driven by the scale of the district compared to others across North Carolina. During the work session, Bracy pointed to a comparison table of districts statewide and told board members, “We have the largest district in the state.”
Why the District Says Consolidation is Needed
District leaders said the plan is driven by aging facilities, underutilized buildings, and rising maintenance costs, with a goal of improving safety and efficiency across the system.
Coleman said Cumberland County Schools currently faces about $300 million in deferred maintenance needs, part of an estimated $900 million total facilities backlog across the district.
In one scenario, the district recommended building a new elementary school on the J.W. Coon campus, at an estimated cost of about $50 million, and closing both Brentwood Elementary and Sherwood Park Elementary once construction is complete. Coleman said the two existing schools alone represent more than $8.5 million in deferred maintenance costs that could be avoided by building a new facility.
Another proposal would combine Margaret Willis Elementary and Ferguson-Easley Elementary into a new school, estimated at about $40 million, saving roughly $6.3 million in deferred maintenance tied to the two older campuses.
A third scenario calls for closing Stedman Elementary School and replacing it with a new facility on the same site, also estimated at about $40 million, which district officials said could save about $2.2 million in deferred maintenance.
Altogether, the district estimates the consolidation and construction proposals would require about $145 million in total construction costs, with approximately $160 million currently allocated, including about $15 million set aside as contingency funding.
District officials said the plan could ultimately generate more than $31 million in long-term required maintenance savings by closing older buildings and shifting students into newer facilities.
Pushback Over Year-Round Schools
Several board members raised concerns about proposals that would eliminate or convert year-round schools as part of the consolidation plan.
Deanna Jones, a member of the Cumberland County Board of Education, questioned whether the district was moving away from year-round education altogether.
“Is it a trend to close all year-round schools?” Jones asked. “Why are we deciding to do that, taking away the choice from parents?”
Jones later added that she did not support closing Anne Chesnutt Middle School, which currently operates on a year-round calendar.
“You’re taking away the choice for parents that want a year-round school,” she said.
District staff said two of the three remaining year-round schools are involved in consolidation scenarios, including Reid Ross being used as swing space during construction and Anne Chesnutt’s year-round calendar limiting its ability to be reassigned with traditional-calendar schoolsl.
Susan Williams, a board member, said the district currently has about 1,600 students enrolled in year-round schools, despite capacity for nearly 3,000 students across the three campuses.
“We continue to promote signing up for year-round schools, but the interest is about 1,200 families,” Williams said.
Delores Bells, a board member, shared a personal perspective on the value of year-round education.
“My grandson went to year-round schools… and he had the best two years at Anne Chesnutt,” Bells said. “I think we should keep year-round schools.”
Jones argued that enrollment numbers alone should not justify eliminating the option.
“We have parents who chose them for a reason,” she said. “To say they’d be okay going traditional isn’t fair.”
Equity and Student Impact
Jackie Warner, a board member, said she supported new construction but raised concerns about how consolidation could affect vulnerable student populations.
“Douglas Byrd has a very high EC population and a high population of immigrant students,” Warner said. “If you add special programs from A.B. Wilkins and Character Academy, I worry about clustering students and making it harder for them.”
E.E. Smith Dominates Board Discussion
While staff focused on consolidation scenarios, multiple board members repeatedly shifted the conversation to the long-discussed need for a new E.E. Smith High School.
Judy Musgrave, board chair, said she was concerned that the construction timeline did not prioritize the school.
“I don’t see anything about E.E. Smith, and you know how I feel about that,” Musgrave said. “Before we discuss other buildings, we should prioritize it.”
Greg West, a board member, said the district should push for both consolidation and a new E.E. Smith facility.
“We can come out of this unified and ask for a new E.E. Smith in addition to this,” West said.
Williams echoed the call.
“We need to be bold because E.E. Smith deserves a new school,” she said.
Jaqueline Brown, a board member, said academic performance should guide facilities decisions.
“When our scores are where they need to be, it makes all the other decisions very easy,” Brown said. “But we do need to build, and I think we can ask for a new E.E. Smith.”
Mary Hales, a board member, cautioned that large-scale moves could disrupt progress.
“If we start moving these children, we need to concentrate on pulling these scores up before we try to move students around,” Hales said.
What Happens Next
Board members agreed that the consolidation proposals require further discussion before any formal action.
Musgrave said the board expects to receive a formal item related to the consolidation plan during a committee meeting on Feb. 26, where additional data and revisions are expected to be presented.
“We know we need to redistrict and consolidate schools,” Musgrave said. “But we also have 27 low-performing schools, and we need to get those schools up to par first.”
No formal vote on school closures or consolidations has been taken.
Education reporter Dasia Williams can be reached at dwilliams@cityviewnc.com.