The Craven County Board of Education wrapped up a highly anticipated public hearing Tuesday night, hearing from a crowd of community members about the proposed closure of Graham A. Barden Elementary. The session, held at the Havelock High School Performing Arts Center, gave parents, staff, and local residents a chance to weigh in before the board makes a final call next month.
Throughout the evening, district leaders reiterated the challenges the school is facing, including shifting enrollment across the county and the rising costs of maintaining the older building.
Graham A. Barden is currently one of the most expensive facilities in the system to operate, and officials estimate that closing it could save more than $500,000 a year. Those savings, according to the district, would be funneled back into other schools to benefit students across the board.
While the board has already voted to move forward with this evaluation process, they have been clear that no final decision was made at last night’s meeting. Superintendent Dr. Matthew Cheeseman previously noted that the goal of the hearing was strictly to gather input and continue exploring every possible option for the students and the district.
Now that the public input phase is complete, the community is looking toward the week of May 18th, when a final vote is expected to take place. If the board ultimately decides to move forward with the closure, they will have a roughly forty-day window to reassign students and staff before the start of the next school year.
