This story first appeared in CityView magazine’s “Back to School” August 2026 edition.
Long before Eric Bracy became superintendent of one of North Carolina’s largest school districts, education was simply part of everyday life. Bracy grew up in a family of educators.
His mother spent more than four decades teaching kindergarten, while his father served as a high school principal. Together, they shaped the philosophy he said still guides his leadership today.
His mother believed helping children learn to read could shape the rest of their lives. His father focused on ensuring students graduated prepared to be employed, enrolled in college, or enlisted in the military.
“Those two perspectives still shape me today,” Bracy said. “Education, for me, has always been about both foundation and future. We have a responsibility to meet students where they are, give them what they need, and help them leave us prepared for life.”
Bracy, 53, began his career as a fourth-grade teacher before serving as a principal, central office administrator, and superintendent in several North Carolina school districts. He said every role reinforced the same lesson: student achievement improves when adults are focused, aligned, and willing to do the work together.
Before arriving in Fayetteville, Bracy spent more than 25 years in public education, including superintendent roles in Johnston, Sampson, and Northampton counties. During his tenure in Johnston County, the district improved its statewide grade-level proficiency ranking while reducing the number of low-performing schools.
In Sampson County, the district climbed from the state’s 66th- to 15th-highest-performing school system, while leaders also implemented long-term strategic planning and secured voter approval for major school bond initiatives.
“What led me to Cumberland County Schools (CCS) was the opportunity to serve a district with tremendous potential,” he said. “CCS is a large, diverse, and important district, not just for this region but for our state. I saw a school system that had already made meaningful progress and was ready for its next level of excellence.”
Scheduling conflicts prevented an in-person interview with Bracy, but the school district provided written responses to questions. They have been lightly edited for style.
You officially stepped into this role on July 1, 2025. What has your first year taught you about both the opportunities and challenges facing one of North Carolina’s largest school districts?
This first year has confirmed what I believed when I arrived: Cumberland County Schools has the talent, heart, and capacity to be one of the top-performing districts in North Carolina. I have visited schools, met with principals, listened to staff, talked with families, and engaged with community partners. What I have seen is a district filled with people who care deeply about students.
At the same time, leading one of the state’s largest school districts comes with real challenges. We are managing aging facilities, enrollment shifts, staffing needs, budget pressures, and the responsibility of serving students with a wide range of needs. Those challenges are real, and we cannot ignore them.
But I am encouraged by the direction of the work. Official accountability results from the 2025-2026 school year will be released this fall, but preliminary results indicate that we are on the right track. We are seeing signs that the strategies we have put in place are beginning to make a difference.
Now, the work is to stay focused. We have to keep the main thing the main thing. That means high-quality instruction, strong leadership, safe and supportive schools, and accountability for results. We will celebrate progress, but we will not become satisfied. Our students deserve our best every day.
One of the most difficult decisions made during your first year was closing Manchester Elementary and J.W. Coon Elementary schools as part of the district’s broader facilities plan. How did you personally navigate leading through a decision that generated such strong emotional responses from families and communities?
Any decision involving a school community is deeply personal. Schools are not just buildings. They hold history, relationships, memories, and pride. I understand why families, staff, alumni, and community members felt strongly about those decisions.
As superintendent, my responsibility is to listen with respect, provide accurate information, and help the board and the community look at both the immediate impact and the long-term needs of the district. That is not easy work, and it should not be easy. When people are emotionally connected to a school, that tells you the school has mattered in their lives.
At the same time, we have to make decisions that are responsible for the entire district. We have aging facilities, changing enrollment patterns, and significant capital needs. Avoiding difficult decisions today can create bigger challenges for students and staff tomorrow.
I tried to lead through that process by being present, listening, and staying grounded in what is best for students. Even when people disagree with a decision, they deserve to know they were heard and that the decision was made with care.
Throughout those school closure discussions, some families raised concerns about equity, arguing that consolidation decisions once again disproportionately affected historically Black school communities. How do you respond to those concerns, and what responsibility do district leaders have in rebuilding trust when communities feel unheard?
When families and communities raise concerns about equity, we have a responsibility to listen carefully and not dismiss what they are saying. History matters. Community experiences matter. Trust is not built by asking people to simply accept a decision and move on.
I understand that some of our school communities carry deep historical significance, particularly in communities that have experienced change, consolidation, or loss over time. When people feel unheard, district leaders have to do more than explain the process. We have to continue showing up, continue communicating, and continue demonstrating that every child, every neighborhood and every school community matters.
For me, that means making sure all students have access to quality instruction, safe and supportive learning environments, and opportunities that prepare them for success.
Cumberland County Schools continues facing major financial pressures, from enrollment declines to long-term facility needs and budget challenges tied to operating one of the state’s largest districts. How do you balance making difficult decisions in the present while also planning for the district’s long-term future?
The balance comes from having a clear plan and being disciplined enough to follow it. We cannot make decisions one issue at a time without understanding how they connect to the larger direction of the district.
That is why the Strategic Plan 2026-2031: The Path to CCS Excellence is so important. It gives us a roadmap. Our North Star is clear: Cumberland County Schools will be the highest-performing district in North Carolina. That is an ambitious goal, but it helps align our decisions around student achievement, people, learning environments, and community partnerships.
Financial pressures require us to be thoughtful and responsible. We have to protect classroom instruction, support our employees, and plan honestly for the facilities our students and staff need. Sometimes that means making difficult decisions now so that we can create a stronger, more sustainable district for the future.
My goal is not simply to manage the challenges in front of us. My goal is to position CCS for long-term excellence.
Leadership often looks very different from the outside than it feels internally. During your first year, was there a moment or challenge that tested you personally as a leader and forced you to grow in ways you did not expect?
The first year in any new district requires you to listen, learn, and lead all at the same time. That can be challenging because people are looking for direction, but you also need to understand the culture, history, and needs of the district before moving too quickly.
The facilities conversations were certainly among the most difficult because they involved emotion, history, and real concerns from families and communities. Those moments remind you that leadership is not just about making decisions. It is about how you carry yourself through those decisions.
This year has reinforced the importance of staying calm, staying focused, and not taking things personally. You have to listen to criticism, separate emotion from information, and keep asking, “What is best for students?” That question keeps me grounded.
I have also learned even more about the strength of the CCS team. There are outstanding educators, principals, support staff, and district leaders here. When you surround yourself with strong people and keep the focus on students, you can move through difficult seasons and still make progress.
Public education is facing workforce challenges, from teacher recruitment to retaining specialized staff and support personnel. What have you learned this year about the people side of leading a district, and what are Cumberland County Schools’ biggest needs moving forward?
The people side of this work is everything. You can have the best plan in the world, but it will not succeed without strong people carrying it out every day.
Our educators and staff all play a role in student success. One of the things I have emphasized is that we have to know our staff, support our staff, and create the conditions where they can do their best work.
Our biggest need moving forward is to continue recruiting and retaining high-quality educators and staff, especially in hard-to-fill teaching areas, specialized support roles, and school-based positions that directly affect students’ daily experiences. We also have to continue strengthening leadership because strong principals help create strong schools.
People want to be valued, supported, and part of something meaningful. We have to make sure CCS is a place where talented people want to come, stay and grow.
Beyond some of the more difficult conversations this year, what are one or two accomplishments or moments from your first year that made you feel optimistic about the future of Cumberland County Schools?
I am encouraged by the academic progress we are seeing. Official accountability results will be released this fall, but our preliminary results indicate we are moving in the right direction. That kind of movement does not happen by accident. It reflects focused work by principals, teachers, staff, students and families.
I am also encouraged by the energy around our new strategic plan. The Path to CCS Excellence is not just a document. It reflects the voices of our students, families, staff and community. It gives us a shared direction and a clear standard for the work ahead.
The other thing that gives me optimism is what I see when I walk into schools. I see students learning. I see teachers pushing students to think. I see principals who know their data and care about their people. I see staff members who go above and beyond. Those moments remind me that CCS Excellence is already present in many ways. Our job now is to make it consistent across every school.
Looking ahead to year two, what priorities will define your leadership moving forward? What do you hope students, families, and educators begin to understand more clearly about the kind of superintendent you intend to be?
Year two will be about focus, implementation, and results. We have a strategic plan. We have our North Star. Now we have to execute.
My priorities are clear: increase student achievement, ensure every student has access to quality instruction, strengthen school leadership, support and retain employees, create safe and welcoming learning environments, and deepen family and community partnerships. Those are not separate efforts. They all connect to student success.
For the 2026-2027 school year, we will stay focused on improving proficiency, meeting or exceeding growth, celebrating successes along the way, and refusing to accept excuses. That does not mean we ignore challenges. It means we acknowledge them, address them, and stay focused on solutions. It also means we cannot become complacent because of the progress some of our schools have made. Progress should encourage us, and it should also remind us to keep building on that momentum so every student, in every classroom and at every school, has the opportunity to reach their full potential.
What I hope people understand about me is that I am going to continue to be visible, engaged, and focused on students. I believe in accountability, but I also believe in support. I believe in data, but I never forget that every number represents a child. I believe in high expectations because our students are capable of high achievement.
I want families, staff, and the community to know this: I am committed to CCS. I believe in this district. I believe in our students. I believe in our people. And I believe that together, we can make Cumberland County Schools the highest-performing district in North Carolina.
