Edgecombe County Public Schools
The new North Edgecombe high school is budgeted at about $65.1 million, mostly from a $62 million state grant plus a county match.
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The policy desk
The debate over phones, screens and the school day.
The policy desk
How artificial intelligence is changing classrooms and school rules.
The policy desk
Students speaking up, organizing and helping shape their schools.
The news desk
Edgecombe County Public Schools
The board approved MagicSchool, an AI platform, for grades 6 through 12 for July 2026 through June 2027. The state is paying the full $24,577. Staff said it gives teachers more than 80 AI teaching tools and students more than 50 AI tools that teachers manage.
The school had 44 students in August, below the 46 its 2026-27 budget assumed. Staff said that leaves the budget about $55,000 short. By September enrollment was 41, and the fundraising committee said about $70,000 still must be raised.
Starting in 2026-27 the district left the program that gave every student free meals. Families must apply for free or reduced-price meals, and prices rose 25 cents: lunch is $3 at elementary schools and $3.25 at middle and high school, and breakfast is $2.
High school students were scheduled to start in the new Northampton Collegiate and Technical High School on October 5, 2026. In August staff said staff would move in after Thanksgiving with classes there in January, and in October the owner's representative said even a December 24 completion date was uncertain.
The 2026-27 budget passed in August includes the state's 3% raise; staff said teachers get an average increase of about 8%. The board also approved county-funded bonuses of $500 for certified and $250 for classified staff in July, and in September passed through state October bonuses of $500 to $1,750 depending on role and experience.
North East Carolina Preparatory School
The 2026-27 student-parent handbook says students may use AI tools only when a teacher allows it. If a teacher or administrator suspects work is not the student's own, including AI misuse, the student can be asked to show what they know another way. That could be a supervised written answer, an oral presentation, or a talk with the teacher. Failing to complete it or to show understanding can lower the grade. Repeated or serious misuse can bring discipline.
A teacher resigned in July and the school decided not to fill the job. In August there was no aide, and the school director was teaching a full load while also running the school.
Superintendent Dr. Barry Williams resigned effective July 31, 2026. The board named Dr. Chante Jordan, the district's human resources director, as interim superintendent starting July 20.
Edgecombe County Public Schools
Staff told the board that students will use only district devices for classwork in 2026-27. Grades 3-12 get Chromebook carts in each classroom, so devices generally no longer go home. Staff said the district already has a school board cell phone policy, and the board readopted it in August.
On June 25, 2026 the board reviewed a draft request for proposals to hire an outside consultant for a districtwide "rightsizing and consolidation study." The study, if the board proceeds, would analyze 10-year enrollment projections, identify schools that are overcrowded or under-enrolled, and produce at least three different scenarios for redrawing school attendance boundaries or consolidating smaller or older schools into larger, modernized ones — including a cost comparison of consolidating versus building new. This is a study proposal, not a decision to close or merge any specific school; any actual boundary or consolidation changes would require separate future board action after community engagement.
On June 25, 2026 the board approved a "Second Amendment to Superintendent Contract" as an open-session agenda item. The collected board record shows that this item was placed on the agenda and that the board voted to approve it, but does not include the text of the amendment itself, so the specific terms that changed (such as compensation, term length, or performance conditions) are not established by the documents collected for this page.
Closed-session portions of board meetings over the past year identify three active pieces of litigation involving the Board of Education: (1) CATE Services and Construction, LLC v. Durham Public Schools Board of Education (Durham Superior Court, first referenced September 2025 and still being discussed as of June 2026), a dispute with a construction contractor; (2) Durham Public Schools Board of Education v. Kent Underwood (Durham Superior Court, referenced April 2026); and (3) D.J., a minor child, through his guardian ad litem Tonya Ward, v. Jill Schabow, Crystal Douglas, and Durham County Board of Education (Durham Superior Court, referenced June 2026), a case naming the board and two named individuals as defendants alongside a minor plaintiff. Because the board only discusses active litigation in closed session to preserve attorney-client privilege, the collected record establishes that these cases exist and are being actively handled by counsel, but does not establish the underlying facts, claims, or dollar amounts at issue in any of them.
Spring 2026 state tests showed 67% of students proficient in math and 61% in reading, the lowest in many years; science was 100%. In September, the school's state report card grade fell to a C, its lowest since 2013. The board also lowered its improvement-plan test goal from 85% to 75% proficient.
Edgecombe County Public Schools
Auditors reviewing 2024-25 told the board that bank accounts were not reconciled on time, spending ran over budget, and nearly $50,000 in credit card purchases had no receipts. Several of these problems were also found the year before. The general fund ended the year with $389,486, only $148,179 of it unassigned.
Edgecombe County Public Schools
The board approved moving North Edgecombe High students into the Phillips Middle School building for the 2026-27 school year while their school is rebuilt. Phillips Middle students moved to Coker-Wimberly Elementary for the length of the project.
KIPP Gaston College Preparatory (KIPP Eastern North Carolina)
In May the draft 2026-27 budget for KIPP North Carolina was $1.82 million short. Health insurance went up about 15% (about $1 million), pay went up and enrollment fell from 2,844 to 2,690. On June 4 the board approved a balanced budget, mainly by cutting staff to fit enrollment and holding some open jobs empty.
KIPP Gaston College Preparatory (KIPP Eastern North Carolina)
At the June 4, 2026 board meeting, parents said KIPP Pride Middle students who failed end-of-grade tests were called out in front of others in the gym. One parent said she is pulling her daughter out. The CEO and board chair apologized and said the situation was being handled.
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