District overview
Gates County Schools
Funding structure, how it compares to peers, and where major projects stand.
How Gates County Schools are paid for and who decides
Gates County Schools runs the public schools in Gates County in northeastern North Carolina: two elementary schools (Gatesville and T. S. Cooper), Central Middle School and Gates County Senior High. About four of every five dollars come from the state, which pays mainly by enrollment, so losing students means losing money. The county provides about one dollar in nine. A five-member Board of Education, elected from five districts, sets policy and hires the superintendent. In 2026 the board closed Buckland Elementary to save money, the superintendent resigned, and an interim superintendent now leads the district.
Mostly state money
In 2024-25 about 80% of revenue came from the state, 11% from the county and 5% from federal programs.
Savings nearly gone
The general fund's unassigned money fell to about $108,000 in June 2025, and a draft 2025-26 audit shows a combined shortfall of about $342,000.
Fewer students
Enrollment was reported at 1,336 in September 2026, down from 1,372, which lowers state funding.
Board of five
Members are elected from five districts in nonpartisan March elections; a closure vote in March 2026 was taken with three members present.
These figures come mostly from meeting recordings with machine-made captions, which can garble numbers. The 2025-26 audit was still a draft. None of this shows money was misused; the 2024-25 audit had no findings.
Where the district stands
Calculation: $28,733,409 / 1,336 students. Different years; context only.
Major projects
Closing Buckland Elementary and combining elementary schools
completed for 2026-27; follow-up costs continuingA consultant study pointed to Buckland as the school to close. The board closed it at the end of 2025-26 and moved students to Gatesville and T. S. Cooper with new attendance zones. Moving costs were about $58,900 by August, not counting parking and kitchen work.
- Superintendent lays out study timeline
- Community meetings at all three schools (Jan. 5-7)
- Board chooses to close one school for 2026-27
- Resolution closes Buckland Elementary
- New attendance zones approved
- Students start at the combined schools
Funding
Expected yearly savings, mostly from fewer staff; move costs paid with county money
Search for a permanent superintendent
under waySuperintendent Dr. Barry Williams resigned effective July 31, 2026. Dr. Chante Jordan is interim superintendent, and in October the board hired its attorney's firm to help with the search.
- Resignation accepted; interim named
- Interim superintendent sworn in
- Board engages attorney for search
Funding
Not stated in collected records
Gates County Senior High science lab renovation
behind scheduleLabs were meant to be ready when students returned August 24. In September parts did not fit, and in October students were using the rooms but not yet doing experiments.
- Renovation started
- Board told lab is weeks behind
- Rooms in use without experiments
Funding
State repair and renovation money (amount not stated)
Recent news
Board meeting recordings on the district's official YouTube channel (November 17, 2025 through October 2026), read through their auto-generated captions; district announcements; and the audited 2024-25 financial statements posted on the district website.
Get alerts for Gates County Schools
We read every agenda, packet, recording, and set of minutes, and write up the decisions that affect families — each one linked to the document it came from.
Copy the RSS link into your feed reader to get new published alerts.