LOCUST — As a follow-up to the Stanly County Board of Education’s regular meeting earlier this month, the school board hosted a community information public meeting at West Stanly Middle School last week.
The special-called meeting on Feb. 13 featured a public reveal of Stanly County Schools’ 2025-26 Student Assignment Plan, which proposed an realignment adjustment for three elementary schools in the county to address overcrowding from increased student enrollment.
SCS Superintendent Dr. Jarrod Dennis and school board Vice Chair Dustin Lisk led the presentation that contained visuals, maps, and data outlining the need for redistricting based on a study produced for the school district by Numerix, a consulting firm based out of New York City, NY.
Stanly County Board of Education Chair Robin Whittaker clarified that the redistricting plan is still just a “potential solution” and has not been voted on as of yet.
“We know the discussions about school redistricting and realignment are never easy,” Whittaker said. “We deeply appreciate your time, your concern, and also your dedication to your children and this community. We want to begin by acknowledging that the growth in this county is something that none of us can fully control. Our board did not create the overcrowding issues that we’re dealing with, but we, however, have a responsibility to address them.”
According to the plan and its redrawn student redistricting map, 100 K-5 students from Locust Elementary School and 60 K-5 students from Stanfield Elementary School would be sent to Endy Elementary School for the 2025-26 school year.
Endy is currently 32 students over its capacity of 325, while Locust is 73 over its capacity of 500 and Stanfield is 35 over its capacity of 460.
To alleviate the proposed growth at Endy, a 10-classroom addition — paid for by a $4.5 million funding agreement between the school board, county, and state — is currently under construction and would potentially increase Endy’s enrollment to 575 students after inheriting students from Locust and Stanfield.
Dennis confirmed that the construction project engineered by contractor JM Cope is still on schedule to be completed in May.
Board Member Bill Sorensen spoke to the concerned parents in the West Stanly Middle School gymnasium audience, emphasizing his view that the redistricting plan laid out by the school district is an unfortunate-but-necessary move given the current and future student enrollment trends in the western part of the county.
“This board will not make any move that’s going to hurt or injure or jeopardize any child in Stanly County,” Sorensen said. “I’m excited about the expansion at Endy. They’ve got a great instructional DLI (Dual Language Immersion) program there, and some kids in Stanly County will be sitting in the first new construction classrooms in 20 to 30 years…We’re not asking some of you folks to transfer your kids from a great school to a not-so-great school.”
The Stanly County Board of Commissioners will hold its next regular meeting on March 4 at 6:15 p.m. in the Gene McIntyre Meeting Room at Stanly County Commons.