Thursday, October 1, 2026
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Gaston County, NC (WNN) - The Gaston County Board of Commissioners' regular meeting was held on April 28, 2026. After a public hearing for zoning map changes, the board quickly moved on to the citizen recognition portion of the meeting. During this, the majority of speakers came forth directly due to decisions made at the previous Gaston County Board of Education Budget meeting. During this meeting, while Superintendent Morgen Houchard’s proposed budget was not presented, it included a higher allocation to operational costs for Gaston County Schools. This would have been an increase of roughly $12 million, enough to bridge this years $10 million shortfall.
A total of 19 speakers chose to voice their concerns about the proposed budget for the upcoming 2026-2027 school year. The overarching theme of their statements is that our current relationship with school funding will lead to a dim future for Gaston County. The first speaker highlighted the direct link between educational funding and crime rates. She noted that she feels the money would be better spent on schools to prevent crime rather than on reactive spending within emergency services.
Another point many of the speakers referenced was that in previous years, GCS operational increase requests have not been met by the Board of Commissioners. This year, the budget submitted by the Gaston County School Board is considered bare-bones by citizens. In a WNN interview with Houchard, he said the requested amount from the GCS Board was less than his proposed budget. When Matthew Rhoden, the Gaston County Manager, spoke about this year's county budget, he noted that the proposed operational budget for GCS was to remain flat as it currently stands.
Many teachers and parents spoke about how our teachers are being forced to bear the cost of basic supplies. With this and the ease of locally trained teachers moving to higher-paying areas, the concern is that teachers will leave the county for areas where they will not only receive more pay, but also not have to make these purchasing decisions. This leads to a “perfect storm” in which teachers leave, leaving the remaining teachers stretched thin, thereby lowering the effectiveness of education in the county. With this faltering education system, locals become either less proficient or move away for better opportunities. The message is clear: people see education as the root of Gaston County's growth and future.
The places where Gaston County Schools is having to make these staffing cuts are also a major point of contention within the school system. Arts positions are among the first to go among teachers, with parents noting that classes such as Drama and Visual Arts are motivators for some students' success in school. Without these outlets, more creative students may begin to struggle in other areas. However, this isn’t the only outlet being removed. One brought up that 39 planned counseling positions are to be cut. This results in a significant decrease in emotional support for these students. With their mental health already at risk, their physical health is under fire as well. Nursing positions are also to be cut, to the concern of many. The worst allegation made in this area was that the EC department does not currently meet IEP standards. This would mean the system is breaking the laws surrounding children with disabilities by not meeting the required staffing.
The school budget was such a hot button issue to the public that the Gaston County NAACP President and Vice President took time away from their current objective to speak on the issue. They have been attending these meetings to ask that the Confederate monument be relocated away from the Gaston County Courthouse. During his time speaking, their president, Sean Bates, brought up homeless students whom he feels the commissioners have not addressed. The VP spoke on how she feels it is imperative that the Gaston County Schools receive the support they are requesting from the commissioners.
Low spending based on the percentage of the property tax was also discussed several times. As of now, the expected property tax income for Gaston County is $218,155,809 FY2027. The currently proposed amount to be spent on schools' operational costs is $54,001,704. This means that ~ 25% of property taxes were expected to be spent on GCS operational costs in the 2027 budget year. Parents and teachers requested that more property tax dollars be allocated to school operational costs.
Following this community outcry, the Gaston County BOC spoke on these issues after County Manager Rhoten presented a portion of the budget. Commissioner Allen Fraley was the first to speak on this. He requested that by next month's meeting, Rhoten and other staff work on options to make the $68 million requested by Houchard possible. This could take the form of cutting spending in other areas or a potential increase in taxes. Regardless, it would mean $12 million more going toward costs such as staffing, bus fuel, and other operations. Other commissioners requested that this be brought up at the next meeting as well, but Bob Hovis had a suggestion of his own.
Hovis proposes that 1/4 cent of the sales tax be reallocated to Gaston County Schools. This would need to be brought to a public vote to be reallocated. This would not constitute an increase in sales tax in Gaston County. Currently, sales tax is 7%, and the county receives 2.25% of that, with the rest going to the state. As the county manager mentioned, sales tax revenue in Gaston County is not a stable source of income and is currently expected to be down by about $6 million. Despite this, Hovis calculates that this could represent $9 to $11 million of the needed funds for the GCS system.
Overall, the need of Gaston County Schools appears to have been heard by the commissioners, and the next significant update should occur at the regular meeting on May 26, 2026, at 6:00 PM. This is before the board must finalize the county budget, leaving them time to vote on the necessary changes to increase the amount allocated to help offset the difficulties they identify as stemming from the state’s allocations.
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