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Cherryville, NC (WNN) - On Monday, April 6th, 2026, Cherryville Mayor Wade Stroupe presided over a town hall to discuss the potential closure of W.B. Intermediate. The crowd of around 50 concerned individuals filled the community building with representation ranging from teachers, parents, concerned citizens, and school officials. This is notably during spring break, when many are out of town. This had to be organized and held quickly due to the short time frame for this decision. School board budgets must be submitted to county commissioners in NC by May 15th, so final decisions must be made by then.
Mayor Stroupe hosted the meeting with the hope that it would lead to the quick formation of a committee to help address this issue, as well as to add supplemental evidence that the closure of W.B. Beam Intermediate is a poor decision. Stroupe opened jokingly that while it had been called a town hall, he had considered naming it “A gathering to discuss how Cherryville has once again been overlooked, ignored, taken for granted, and taken advantage of, and how to plan the most effective and efficient way to raise hell to Gaston County about it.” It was easy to tell from the crowd's reaction that this was strongly felt by the community. This is furthered by the potential savings closing the school actually brings. According to Todd Hagans, the closure stands to save the system $200k to $300k. This is a mere drop in the bucket compared to the $10 million shortfall for the 2025-2026 school year addressed at the last Gaston County Commissioners meeting.
Stroupe later mentioned the 2011 study on the Gaston County School System. This showed that three schools were identified as “unneeded,” and little was done about it. One school, Rhyne Elementary in Gastonia, closed three years after the study. However, the two other schools, McAdenville Elementary and York Chester Middle School, continue to show low student populations to this day, yet remain open. York Chester is a particularly bad offender, with another middle school about 2.5 miles away that can house almost 500 more students, according to Stroupe.
Stroupe also spoke on behalf of Cherryville’s local school board representative, Robbie Lovelace, who could not attend due to health reasons. Her main concern is that 5th grade is too young to attend middle school. This is the most frequently expressed sentiment among the Cherryville populace. Secondarily, she is concerned that adding roughly 90 students to each school is not feasible. Notably, despite the rumor mill surrounding the issue, she included in her statement that Bessie Harvey, an assistant superintendent for Gaston County Schools, said the school closure is “not a done deal.”
Second to speak at the meeting was Jamie Sherrill, the W.B. Beam Intermediate PTO President. The first point she brought up was the March 4th letter that was sent to parents by the intermediate school's principal, Lynn Whitesides. This got the community involvement started, but Sherrill’s message to the crowd stands true. To be heard, people must attend these meetings and represent Cherryville. The more citizens who show up at school board meetings and speak to the idea that this is an unwanted decision, the stronger the inclination to listen will become.
The next official to speak was Heather Holt, one of the chairmen of the Cherryville Education Taskforce, which was created to assess the need for W.B. Beam Intermediate’s creation in the early 2000’s and later dissolved. She brought up the previous studies showing Cherryville’s need for the intermediate school. Saying that, at the time, the school was created to address overcrowding at the elementary school. The school was formed to address not only this issue but also the underutilization of buildings already on campus. Later, Council Member Jon Abernethy would say he does not believe the population has shrunk enough to warrant reversing these decisions. He would also like to see the school board acknowledge Cherryville's current and upcoming growth when deciding to close Beam Intermediate.
The point of the meeting, as mentioned earlier, was not so much to provide answers as it was to rally concerned citizens, raise awareness, and formulate a game plan going forward. To this end, many locals spoke about their own concerns and how they see these issues being solved. An earlier concern is that, while the school board keeps bringing up the study showing that closing the intermediate school would be beneficial, this documentation has not been publicly presented in any way, only spoken of. Stroupe and Holt, in response, both said they have asked for this and received nothing. It has been called a faculty study at the board meetings, but Cherryville citizens want to see more done before the school is closed. They would like surveys conducted with the local community, including teachers, parents, and community members. They would also like school board members to explain the direct reasoning for closing Cherryville School if that decision is to be made.
Zachary Shuford Cherryville local speaking on why he believes the school closure to be a bad idea - W. Blaine Beam Intermediate Town Hall - Cherryville, NC - April 6, 2026
Mason Beam (WNN)
The first citizen to speak at the podium brought up that this isn’t just an intermediate school problem. As a parent, he said, while his daughter attended Beam Intermediate, she was excited to return to school during breaks. However, this has changed once she made it to John Chavis Middle, and she sees it directly relating to class size, with one of her classes already having 35 students in one period. To this end, Cherryville Elementary is not the only feeder school in the system; Tryon Elementary also feeds the middle school, leaving parents wondering if this would also be affected by 5th grade becoming available at Chavis. Another concern here is the segregation of 5th graders from the rest of the student body. Citizens are unsure if Chavis truly has the space to offer 5th graders their own area. The other problem here is that, according to current information, the bell schedule for 5th grade will remain the same, leaving these 5th graders to arrive at different times and making the bus schedule more complex.
Another sentiment echoed by many in the crowd is the lack of representation for Cherryville at the school board. While we do have our local representative, Robbie Lovelace, the citizens feel that the other board members do not respect Cherryville's autonomy or culture. They called for greater attention to local elections to help prevent this issue in the future, with representatives who care about the whole county, not just their local area.
Hannah Garrett, Cherryville citizen speaking on her concerns over the potential closure of the school - W. Blaine Beam Intermediate Town Hall - Cherryville, NC - April 6, 2026
Mason Beam (WNN)
A concerned citizen raised a very real point: this back-and-forth, will-they-won't-they situation is leaving local teachers hanging. While it has been said that teachers will not lose their jobs due to this decision, they are not so trusting as to take this at face value. Despite assurances that they will not lose their jobs for this, the word is that roughly 175 positions are being cut for budget reasons, leaving them worried that they are first on the chopping block. The situation leaves them struggling to decide whether to job hunt, and it is concerning to think the school could remain open but end up understaffed because the issue was not clarified in time for them to decide to stay.
As mentioned throughout the meeting, the best way to support Cherryville’s intermediate school is to show up, as a concerned citizen, to all meetings. It has already been stated that if enough concern is shown, a public hearing for the matter will be held. Time is running out with the budget deadline approaching in May, so the time to show support is now. The upcoming meetings are as follows:
Gaston County Board of Education Regular Meeting: Monday, April 20, 2026, at 5:30 P.M. 943 Osceola Street, Gastonia, NC.
Board of Education Operations Committee Regular Meeting: Monday, May 4, 2026, at 12:30 P.M. 943 Osceola Street, Gastonia, NC.
Board of Education Curriculum and Instruction Committee Regular Meeting: Monday, May 4, 2026, at 3:00 P.M. 943 Osceola Street, Gastonia, NC.
Otherwise, sending emails is one of the best ways to show your concern. The Gaston County School Board emails can be found here. Simply let them know you’d like them to host a public hearing on the issue, and they'll move it forward and provide a time to speak directly on the matter. Alternatively, while it isn’t the direct responsibility of the school administration, the superintendent and central office staff can be reached here.
To hear what the people of Cherryville have come up with so far, you can see the full town hall below. Whether you can add to the topics mentioned here or have entirely different concerns, as said before, the best way to show your support is to attend the school board meetings and reach out ot your local representatives.
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