If you've been following the ongoing saga surrounding Gaston County Schools (GCS) and the proposed closure of W.B. Beam Intermediate School, you already know something smells foul. What is being sold to the public as a "fiscal necessity" looks, upon closer inspection, like a calculated move driven by small-town politics and blatant retaliation. Let's break down the facts, the numbers, and the sudden timeline that GCS doesn't want you to see.
The $200k Illusion: Disputing the District's Math
The Gaston County School Board has publicly claimed that closing Beam Intermediate will save the district a grand total of $288,342. However, a comprehensive community feasibility study released by the Cherryville Education Alliance (CEA) completely dismantles this figure. The CEA’s revised estimates prove the actual savings drop well below $100,000—coming in at approximately $89,904. The district's math falls apart under basic scrutiny:
- Funded by Grants: The School Resource Officer (SRO) position is funded via a grant, meaning moving the role doesn't save GCS a dime.
- Federal Funding Discrepancies: Beam is a Title 1 school. Federal dollars used for supplies, materials, and copiers will simply follow the moving students; it isn't an organic savings to the county.
- Shared Personnel: The Academically or Intellectually Gifted (AIG) teacher is shared across multiple schools and will simply be reassigned.
- Mothballing Costs: Even an empty building requires at least 50% utility operation to prevent mold growth and frozen plumbing.
GCS has yet to produce a shred of evidence to dispute the CEA's findings. But whether the number is $288k or $89k, it is minuscule relative to the massive GCS budget shortfall. More glaringly, Beam is far from the most inefficient facility in the county. GCS’s own past data pointed to McAdenville Elementary—which operates with fewer students and more teachers—as a candidate for closure, yet that study was completely ignored.
Overcrowding Cherryville Elementary
Should GCS proceed with consolidating Beam Intermediate into Cherryville Elementary, our children will pay the ultimate price in the classroom. The plan reduces the number of 5th-grade teachers down to only three, instantly forcing classroom sizes to skyrocket to more than 30 children per teacher.
Furthermore, the physical facility at Cherryville Elementary is explicitly unequipped to take on two additional grade levels:
- The "Gym": The current recreational space isn't even large enough to fit a standard basketball court.
- The Cafeteria Crisis: The cafeteria is already so tiny that lunch periods must begin at 10:30 a.m. just to cycle through the current K-3 population. GCS has made absolutely zero plans to accommodate the influx of 4th and 5th graders into this compressed schedule.
Radio Silence from the Superintendent's Office
Attempts by community members and advocacy groups to pull official public records and clarify these operational discrepancies have hit a brick wall. The office of Todd Haggins has completely ignored formal public document requests. Under North Carolina Public Records Law, he is legally required to either supply the requested documentation or provide an explicit legal justification for denying it. Instead, the community has been met with unanswered emails and complete non-compliance.
It's Actually About the Sports Facilities
Why the sudden, aggressive push to shutter a well-utilized community bridge school? The timeline tells the real story:
- February 2026: The Beam PTO writes a formal letter to the superintendent expressing serious concerns regarding the elementary students' access to the shared high school gym facility.
- March 2, 2026 (6:00 p.m.): At a PTO meeting held at Beam Intermediate, Principal Whitesides confirms that the superintendent's office received the gym access letter and tells parents to expect a response soon.
- March 4, 2026 (Less than 48 hours later): Cherryville families receive sudden official notice that Beam Intermediate is being evaluated for potential closure.
- June 11, 2026: At the school board meeting, school board member Josh Criss stated that the plan to close Beam Intermediate would allow GCS to kick the American Legion off the baseball field, thus making the space only usable for high school sports. That's right, they plan to kick our veterans off the baseball field over a petty dispute!
This isn't fiscal responsibility; it's a political hit. The rapid retaliation points directly to a conflict of interest involving Cherryville High School Athletic Director Matt Powers, whose wife, Rebekka Powers, happens to serve as the district's Assistant Superintendent.
Using local children's education as leverage to settle an administrative dispute over gym space is the definition of corrupt, small-town politics. Cherryville families deserve transparency, full public documentation, and a school board that prioritizes students over personal agendas.