5 things we don't know about what will happen if Catawba County's three school districts merge

Catawba County has a proposed plan to merge the three school systems in the county.

The Catawba County Board of Commissioners will hold a public hearing and vote on that plan Monday at 7 p.m. If a majority of commissioners vote to approve the plan, it would go to the North Carolina State Board of Education for approval. The effective date of the merger would be July 1, 2028, according to the proposed plan released by the county.

The plan lays out plans for the name of the new district, makeup of the board for the new school district, basic staffing plans for two years after the merger and other details that are required for a school merger plan according to state statutes.

Since the county originally released its proposed plan on March 20, it made one alteration to the interim board plan. Initially, the commissioners would select board members from current school district boards. Board members who chose to serve on the new school district board, which would be known as the Catawba Valley Board of Education, would have to resign from their current school board. On April 6, the county chose to remove the requirement that board members resign from their current board.

If the plan is approved by the commissioners and the state board, it would be the first district merger since Shelby, Kings Mountain and Cleveland County merged in 2004 following a three-year legal fight.

Some questions are still unanswered about the merger. The questions may not be answered at Monday night's hearing. There are questions that would have to be addressed by the commissioners or the board of the Catawba Valley School District if the merger plan is approved.

Below are five questions that have been asked by residents attending forums about the merger. Catawba County has provided partial answers to some questions in a frequently asked questions document on the county's website.

What would it cost to merge Hickory City Schools, Newton-Conover City Schools and Catawba County Schools?

Hickory City Schools and Newton-Conover City Schools leaders have questioned how much it would cost to merge the three school districts. On a webpage on the Hickory school district's website about the merger, Hickory said, "Technology integration alone is projected to cost $8–12 million over 2–3 years. Legal fees, rebranding and consolidating financial systems would add even more."

A 2025 study about merging Buncombe County Schools and Asheville City Schools conducted by Prismatic Services and presented to the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners found that there could be higher salary costs for classified personnel, like bus drivers, cafeteria workers and custodial staff if those districts merged.

"A consolidated system would most probably adopt a consistent approach to salaries and supplements for various positions; it would be difficult to retain staff in a position if, because they were previously employed by ACS or BCS, they were now earning less than others in a similar position in the new system," the study said. "The most likely outcome would be a shifting of salaries and supplements to the higher of the current ACS/BCS options at the positional level."

The Buncombe County study, which factored in community values, parent and student input, district operations and other factors in a 188-page document, did not recommend merging those two school systems.

Would the district receive less federal and state funding than the three districts currently receive?

At a forum on March 30 in Newton, Sylvia White raised concerns about the loss of federal and state funding. The concern had also been previously raised by others associated with Hickory City Schools and Newton-Conover City Schools.

White, the Newton-Conover High School women's basketball coach and a former administrator, said she believed the county would lose at least $2 million in federal and state funding if the county went from three districts to one district.

She said each district in the county is allotted 50 months of employment for CTE teachers. White said this equates to five positions per district. White said if the county lost funding for 10 of those positions it would cost the county about $800,000.

White said state funded pre-K teacher and school health personnel positions could also decline from six across the three districts to two total. White said revenue lost for those positions might be about $320,000, based on average salaries and benefits.

The decline in funding for CTE teachers would not be felt until after the second fiscal year following the merger. The North Carolina Department of Public Instruction allotment manual said the number of central office administration, CTE teachers, limited English proficiency teachers and preschool teachers would remain the same for the first two years after a merger. After that time, it would be up to the board of education to decide what is funded.

The county has said that federal and state funding would likely decline.

"It is true some state formula funding would be reduced by the move from three districts to one. ... However, these reductions would be offset by enrollment-based funding increases realized through the merger, because the newly merged district is forecast to experience strong student enrollment growth in the near-term, and funding follows enrollment in public education," a slide from the county's October presentations about merging school systems said. "Even if not offset, this state funding loss would be less concerning than the long term effects of continued revenue erosion driven by student enrollment loss on the student experience."

What would happen to district level administration?

The merger plan says there would not be a reduction in staffing for the first two years following the effective date of the merger.

The Buncombe County and Asheville study said the administrative staff could be reduced by about 10% to 15% in some departments if those districts merged.

Which students would change schools?

The proposed plan says that some students in overcrowded schools would be shifted to other schools. The plan does not say which schools or give an estimate on how many students could be impacted. The plan does say, "When considering any student assignment change, the (Catawba Valley Board of Education) should give priority to students currently enrolled in high school remaining at their then-assigned high school, so they may graduate from that high school if they choose. Secondary priority should be given to siblings of students currently enrolled in high school, with the express objective of easing the impacts of attendance transitions on families."

In one study by the architecture firm McKissick Associates that looked at combining Newton-Conover and Catawba County Schools, more than 450 Catawba County students were reassigned to schools in the Newton-Conover district.

Catawba County Schools is currently trying to get funding to expand and renovate its middle schools to accommodate sixth graders. The district projects the renovations and construction will cost about $120 million.

What would happen to specialized courses and programs, like Hickory's orchestra program or Newton-Conover's Discovery High School?

The county plan says those programs and others would remain for at least the first two years after the merger if it is approved.

What would happen after the first two years is unclear. Decisions about programming would likely be made by a combination of interim and elected board members in or after 2030.

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