By Miles Layton

GATESVILLE — The Gates County Board of Commissioners put the school system on notice Friday, issuing a formal memorandum that would fund the district’s local budget at $2,953,000 for fiscal year 2026-2027 — roughly $245,000 below what Superintendent Barry Williams requested — while capping capital outlay at a fraction of the district’s ask and imposing new restrictions on how local dollars can be spent.

By Saturday evening, Board of Education Chairman Leslie Byrum had answered: he called for a special joint meeting of both boards, appealing for professionalism and urging the two governing bodies to find common ground before a state-mandated budget deadline looms.

Full memorandum appears at the end of the story.

I can’t think of a cool metaphor to describe all this back and forth, so let’s go with this YouTube video featuring cats fighting.

The featured photo with this story comes from the April 29 joint meeting of Gates County’s Board of Education and County Commission.

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The Exchange, in Brief

Friday’s memorandum, dated May 8 and addressed by Commission Chair Emily Truman to Byrum, followed contentious exchanges at the April 29 joint meeting over budget transparency, consolidation savings, and the accountability of school leadership. The commission’s formal budget resolution, once submitted, will set the stage for final negotiations before the county’s May deadline.

Byrum’s email, sent around 7:30 p.m. Saturday, after the memorandum circulated near and far, a request for a Special Call Joint Meeting was made, and the dispute was framed in blunt but measured terms.

“It is simply that one side thinks that everything is complete and the other side thinks it is incomplete,” he wrote.

He was pointed in setting expectations for the gathering. “This meeting is not to call names of employees of the school system or accuse any employee of any work performance. Our meeting is to discuss what is the best amount of money to allocate to the school budget for the upcoming year and to see that every child and staff can succeed.”

Byrum closed with an appeal — rendered in capitalization for emphasis — for unity over division: “IT IS TIME FOR BOTH BOARDS TO UNITE!!! WE ARE TO ACT IN THE BEST INTEREST OF OUR TAXPAYERS, CHILDREN, AND STAFF OF BOTH BOARDS.” Byrum capitalized this passage to emphasize his point.

Attached to the email was a formal notice scheduling a Special Joint Meeting of the Gates County Board of Education and Gates County Board of Commissioners for 6 p.m. Tuesday, May 12, at the Gates County Historical Courthouse, 2nd Floor — Commissioners Chambers, 115 Court Street, Gatesville. The stated purpose is to discuss the 2026-2027 budget, clarify the May 8 memorandum, and address other public school matters.

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What the School System Asked For — and How the Memo Responds

To understand what both sides are arguing about now, it helps to go back to April 29, when Williams walked commissioners through a 28-slide budget presentation.

See our previous story here.

The local request of $3.198 million was driven largely by maintenance costs — 41 percent of local funds, roughly $1.306 million — reflecting what Williams described as aging facilities and rising utility costs.

The commission’s response was to offer $2,953,000, a gap of roughly $245,000 that the May 12 meeting will almost certainly need to address.

The district’s total planning budget resolution — encompassing state, federal, and local sources — was approved by the Board of Education at approximately $21,853,742. State funding is projected at $14,889,215, federal funds total $913,446, and child nutrition brings in an additional $1.2 million. The district also requested $360,000 in supplemental funds for child nutrition, technology, and exceptional children’s services, noting that while the state funds exceptional children’s programs at a 13 percent rate, the district serves roughly 19 percent of students in those programs.

Capital Outlay: The school system requested $300,000 — $200,000 for parking lot renovations and HVAC replacement, and $100,000 for technology upgrades including computer lab renovations, teacher laptop replacements, and Chromebook purchases.

The memorandum counters with $100,000, one-third of the ask. That amount would cover only part of the technology upgrades and would leave the parking and HVAC work entirely unfunded unless the district finds alternative sources.

Byrum’s call for the joint meeting specifically cited a need to clarify the memorandum’s positions — this gap will likely be among the first items on the table.

Consolidation Costs: The school system presented $325,600 in one-time expenses tied to the closure of Buckland Elementary, led by $200,000 for parking and freezer infrastructure at the receiving school, with additional costs for cafeteria equipment ($90,000), moving assistance ($15,000), teacher stipends ($10,000), custodial staff ($7,000), and smaller line items. The commission said it is willing to fund consolidation separately — but only after reviewing a full closure report. “The governing body will act expeditiously subject to the review and approval of the School District’s plan of action and full closure report,” the memo states. That condition mirrors demands Commissioner Dave Forsythe raised April 29, when he argued the district’s own school-closing procedures require a summary documenting projected savings in personnel, utilities, custodial costs, transportation, repairs, and insurance — a report he said had not been produced.

The memorandum is unambiguous on this point: “The County will take possession of the Buckland Elementary School property at the end of the current fiscal year.”

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Restrictions on Local Funds

Perhaps the sharpest element of the memorandum is not how much the county offers, but what it will and will not allow the district to do with local dollars.

“The Board of Commissioners is currently inclined to provide certain guidelines and restrictions for the use of local funds, including but not limited to the prohibition of using local funds for salary supplements and/or stipends for central office staff, in line with general statutes, effective July 1, 2026,” the document states.

Truman framed those concerns as part of a longer pattern at the April 29 meeting. “We’ve repeatedly had the Board of Education come to us with various financial concerns, starting with that money that we had to get out of the capital outlay in 2023, and the most recent with the daycare, which was incredibly concerning with how it came about and was presented,” she said.

Byrum’s email did not specifically address the restrictions but made clear that the School Board wants answers. “The School Board would like to have some clarification on this MEMORANDUM,” he wrote.

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Path Forward

The memorandum closes with language about the relationship between the two boards, calling for monthly meetings between board leadership, the superintendent, and the county manager, as well as continued quarterly joint sessions.

The school system’s formal budget submission is due by May 15 under state statute, meaning Tuesday’s special joint meeting would come just days before that hard deadline — making it, in effect, the last best opportunity for both sides to find common ground before the budget process formally locks in.

Worth noting, the Board of Education is also expected to act on personnel recommendations this week, following a closed session item listed for Monday’s meeting: “Approval of the Superintendent’s Personnel Recommendations and Reports from Closed Session.”

Memorandum

TO:                                     Leslie Byrum, Chairman

                                           Gates County Board of Education

FROM:                              Emily Truman, Chair

                                           Gates County Board of Commissioners

SUBJECT:                       Statement of Intention

RE:                                    FY 2026-2027 Budget for the Gates County School District

DATE:                               May 8, 2026

At its special meeting, this afternoon the Board of Commissioners discussed its funding options for the next fiscal year and approved a statement of intention, by majority vote (Truman, Berryman, Forsythe) in favor and one opposed (Rountree) as follows:

First, it is the Board of Commissioners current inclination to fund the school current expense in the amount of $2,953,000.

Secondly, it is the Board of Commissioners current intention to appropriate separate funding for the closure and relocation costs to facilitate the consolidation of three elementary schools to two facilities.  The governing body will act expeditiously subject to the review and approval of the School District’s plan of action and full closure report.

Third, the County will take possession of the Buckland Elementary School property at the end of the current fiscal year.  As such the County will assume responsibility for the costs of closure, utilities, maintenance, insurance and security of the facility and campus.  Any future use of the former Buckland Elementary School property will be determined and approved by the owner, the Board of Commissioners.

Fourth, the Board of Commissioners is currently inclined to provide certain guidelines and restrictions for the use of local funds, including but not limited to the prohibition of using local funds for salary supplements and/or stipends for central office staff, in line with general statutes, effective July 1, 2026.

Fifth, it is the Board of Commissioners current inclination to fund school capital outlay in the amount of $100,000.

It is the desire and goal of the Board of Commissioners to be good stewards of taxpayer funds and seek to build a strong and effective relationship with the Board of Education.  We expect the leadership (Chair & Vice Chair) of both boards to meet monthly with the Superintendent and County Manager and our respective Finance Officers to address future funding for projects and priorities.  Likewise, it is the Board’s intention to continue our quarterly joint meetings of both full boards.