New Hanover community leaders, students speak out against school district's funding shortfall
With New Hanover County Schools now facing a $20 million budget shortfall and more than 200 positions at stake, community leaders, education advocates and students spoke out to put pressure on those who can make change.
“Even before this cut we didn’t have enough bodies in our schools,” said Tim Merrick, a Democratic candidate for the New Hanover Board of Education.
He encouraged attendees at the "Invest in New Hanover County Students" rally to keep putting pressure on New Hanover County Commissioners because they are the last line of defense when it comes to local funding for the public schools.
Of the 279 positions that are at stake, many of those positions were funded by COVID-19 relief funds, and most likely to be cut as the last round of relief money runs out in September.
Many of the relief-funded positions include guidance counselors, social workers and instructional coaches.
'Finally up against a wall': New Hanover school board continues to address budget shortfall
Murrayville Elementary School guidance counselor Lisa Espy stressed the importance of these positions in schools.
“Kids come to me in their darkest moments,” Espy said. “And when they come in my office in those dark times, I give them a safe place where they can share what’s going on.”
Espy said that guidance counselors and social workers work to make sure kids have clothes, that they are fed and that they have resources.
Espy said that as the budget stands right now, there will not be a guidance counselor in every school in New Hanover County.
“There’s a hiring freeze and New Hanover County staff are being broken up and people are being moved around,” Espy said. “Schools that have extreme trauma where students go through a lot where they need more support, staff has been ripped from there to go fill the hole somewhere else.”
New Hanover County student Liv Bellamy said she’s worried the district will lose too many teachers and won’t have enough to teach her and her peers.
Bellamy also said she is worried that her school will not have an assistant principal to help keep the school safe.
“Please make it easier for us to learn harder,” Bellamy said.
Teachers and teaching assistants, especially those hired with relief money, are also facing cuts.
New Hanover County Schools parent and advocate with New Hanover County Educational Justice Sandy Eyles said that the district should not cut student facing positions, especially not those that work with children who have special needs.
“I strongly believe education is an investment, not an expense,” Eyles said. “I’m tired of our county commissioners and state officials not investing enough into our schools.”
This article originally appeared on Wilmington StarNews: New Hanover community leaders speak out against school district's funding
