GASTON COUNTY, N.C. — Cherryville Mayor Wade Stroupe announced plans to block a school board proposal that would close Beam Intermediate School and relocate its students.
The proposal, introduced by the Gaston County School Board, seeks to move students out of the facility starting next year.
Superintendent Dr. Morgen Houchard said the closure is intended to help the district address a budget shortfall.
However, Stroupe argued that the school would likely need to be reopened in a few years and vowed to fight to keep the doors open.
Stroupe, who also served as the city’s leader two decades ago, noted that overcrowding at Cherryville Elementary School originally forced the school board to establish the intermediate school for fourth and fifth graders. He expressed frustration with the current proposal to reverse that structure.
“I just can’t believe that we are sitting here talking about this,” Stroupe said. “Would be a gross injustice to our students and our parents in this city.”
The proposed closure would affect approximately 180 students currently enrolled at Beam Intermediate.
Under the plan presented to the school board, half of those students would be moved back to Cherryville Elementary School, while the other half would be sent to Chavis Middle School.
Superintendent Dr. Houchard told the board that the proposal follows a feasibility study. “Students will fit,” Houchard said. “You’ll have more services for all children.”
Stroupe questioned the timing of the school board’s decision, pointing to the city’s ongoing residential growth.
He noted that the city of 6,000 people is expected to add nearly 1,200 new homes this year alone. He also referenced a $10 million payment recently provided by the county to the school board to address its budget.
“They are doing this at the same time that our tax dollars, my tax dollars, have gone to bail out their mistakes and their shortfall,” Stroupe said.
Jamie Sherrill, the president of the school’s parent-teacher association, announced she will join the mayor’s effort to keep the school open.
Sherrill described the school board’s timeline as a “hasty decision” and raised concerns about the logistics of student transportation.
She said the plan would result in fifth graders riding school buses with high school students. “Any parent would be a little bit concerned about that for sure,” Sherrill said.
The Gaston County School Board has scheduled a public hearing to gather community input on the proposal.
Mayor Stroupe said he plans to meet with residents and organize a rally to send the board a message that the school should remain open.
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