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Hurricanes, population loss contribute to the closing of five Robeson County schools
Robeson County, N.C. — Faced with a budget deficit of more than $2 million and declining student numbers, the Robeson County Board of Education has decided to close five schools, The Fayetteville Observer reports.
Officials say the declining population is tied to several factors, with the displacement of families from Hurricane Matthew in 2016 and Hurricane Florence in 2018 providing a critical blow.
Those displacements, combined with an economy that has not yet fully recovered from an overseas migration of once-thriving textile and tobacco businesses, has caused a population decline in the county, officials said.
The closed schools include:
- Janie C. Hargrave Elementary School in Lumberton
- Rowland Middle School in Rowland
- Green Grove Elementary School in Fairmont
- R.B. Dean Elementary School in Maxton
South Robeson High School has been eliminated, but the building will become a new middle school, according to The Fayetteville Observer.
The school system’s enrollment has steadily decreased by a total of 1,699 students over the last three years, which translates into $12.7 million in lost state revenues, according to the school district.
“It’s a perfect storm scenario caused by the storm — back-to-back major hurricanes — and a declining farming family population that disappeared, the large farming families,” said Olivia Oxendine, a Lumberton resident.
Oxendine, who sits on the Board of Education, said every official with ties to Robeson County needs to “get around the strategy table to figure out how this county is going to look in 25 years.”
“I am telling you the time is right for the leaders of this county and the citizens to wake up,” she said.
Many school buildings were damaged by the hurricanes.
“It would be cheaper for us to build another new school with the maintenance and electric bills (at the older schools),” Charles Bullard, the board’s vice chairman, told The Fayetteville Observer.
Melissa Thompson, assistant superintendent for human resources, said, since July 30, 45 school system employees have resigned or retired.
Read the full report on The Fayetteville Observer’s website.