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The gymnasium at West Stanly Middle School hosted a community information session Thursday night regarding the proposed redistricting of students on the western end of Stanly County.

Dr. Jarrod Dennis, superintendent of Stanly County Schools (SCS), and school board vice chair Dustin Lisk made the presentations to concerned citizens. The public was asked for questions to be submitted prior to the event.

The questions were not answered directly, but Dennis said answers regarding logistics were “baked into the presentation.” He added questions regarding specific students by name were questions he “would not address in this forum.”

School board chair Robin Whittaker opened the meeting by saying the growth in Stanly “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 those.”

Whittaker said the proposed redistricting, which would send 160 students from Locust and Stanfield to the new Endy school addition under construction, was just a “potential solution.”

“We want you to be open minded. We’re here to give you the specifics as we know them. Please know this board has not voted on anything you’re going to see tonight, and we will not do so tonight,” Whittaker said.

The presentation contained information from logistics company Numerix, which SCS contracted in December 2022 to do a population study and projection for 10 years in the future.

Lisk mentioned Endy, without the new building, is at 110% of capacity, with Locust at 115% and Stanfield 107%. He referred to the law passed by the state legislature to limit class sizes in kindergarten through third grade.

Dennis presented the findings of the study, showing increased growth in the western end of Stanly projected to continue to increase those schools’ capacities.

Lisk said the county needs a new elementary school in the western end, along with an addition to West Stanly Middle School, noting it was previously Running Creek Elementary.

“The wings are really small,” Lisk said. “There is only one bathroom on each wing. If you’ve ever gone through students sitting in the hall, you have to meander through.”

In previous meeting, the school board has discussed construction of a new elementary school on land in Oakboro owned by SCS. The board also has stated its intentions to seek a $62 million grant from the state’s Need Based Capital Fund Grant. As a Tier 2 county, they did not get the grant two years ago, but according to the state’s DPI website, Tier 2 counties are now eligible for them.

Lisk said 58 students attending Locust and Stanfield are transfers from other county districts, adding the majority of those students are the children of SCS employees. He added there are 27 non-employee fifth graders who are transfers.

According to Lisk, it will be up to the school board to decide if those transfers stay. SCS has a policy in place which gives the school system the ability to send students back to their original districts.

He added that grandfathering those transfers into the new redistricting “is something the board is going to seriously consider.”

During board comments, board member Glenda Gibson said she experienced her children moving elementary schools, and said SCS has “wonderful staff everywhere.”

Board member Meghan Almond said her understanding of the grant process from last year that moving forward the current board is “going to have to do a better job of filling that out in a timely manner.”

Almond added that she did not vote to “dismiss public comments” from Thursday’s meeting.

“I wanted public comments,” Almond said. “I want the public to be able to speak. I think it’s very important to hear from the people that elected us.

“When we don’t hear publicly from the people that elected us, it’s a complete disservice.”

Board member Vicky Watson said the decision for redistricting is a hard one, but said “we know our students are resilient and they will make good decision.”

Board member Carla Poplin said the school board “may not have caused the growth issue, but we are tasked with the job of dealing with it and coming up with a plan.” She said if the board does not address the transfer issue, it will be “like putting your horses in the barn, leaving the door open and expecting them to stay there.”

Board member Bill Sorensen said he understood parents’ apprehension about redistricting, but said the board is “not asking some of you folks to transfer your kids from a great school to a not so great school.”

Lisk said he wants to be part of a solution while “at the same time affecting the least amount of families and trying to address the longer-term needs.”

The school board will have a work session on March 3 at 10 a.m. at the Stanly Academy Learning Center (the former North Albemarle Elementary). Transfers, grandfathering in of students and long-term capacity issues will be discussed, according to Dennis.