Randolph County Board Votes to Close Uwharrie Ridge 6-12

ASHEBORO — The Randolph County Board of Education voted 4-3 Monday night to close Uwharrie Ridge 6-12 at the end of the current school year, a decision that will send roughly 370 students to Southwestern Randolph Middle and High Schools beginning in the fall.

The vote came after weeks of community opposition, including an online petition and a dedicated public comments meeting March 9 where 45 speakers — all opposed to the closure — urged the board to keep the school open.

The closure ends a school that opened in 2002 as Uwharrie Middle School and was converted to a grade 6-12 campus in 2017. Enrollment peaked at 507 students in the 2019-20 school year and has fallen steadily since, reaching 369 this year.

Superintendent Steven Gainey, who first recommended closing the school in a report presented at the February board meeting, opened Monday's discussion by restating his position. "Make no mistake," Gainey told the board, "this recommendation is for the benefit of the 14,493 students in the Randolph County School System."

Before the vote, Gainey presented proposals aimed at easing the transition for affected students. Chief among them was a plan — developed with the state Department of Public Instruction after students raised concerns at the March 9 meeting about losing their class rank, valedictorian eligibility and the scholarship opportunities tied to both — to keep Uwharrie Ridge's school identification number active, allowing rising juniors and seniors to attend Southwestern Randolph High School while still graduating as “Uwharrie Ridge” students. 

"The students from Uwharrie Ridge will maintain their class ranks and awards associated with class ranks, such as valedictorian," Gainey said. "They also will be graduates of Uwharrie Ridge 6-12, not Southwestern Randolph High School." The board voted unanimously to approve the proposal following the closure vote.

Gainey also proposed keeping the current fifth-grade classes at Farmer Elementary and Tabernacle Elementary at those schools for sixth grade rather than sending them to Southwestern Randolph Middle School — a move that would reduce enrollment pressure at that campus by 91 students. The board did not vote on that proposal Monday; further discussion is expected before a decision is made.

Board member Gary Cook, who said he had wrestled with the decision all week, framed the choice in stark terms. Keeping the school open would cost the district $1.3 million annually — money that could otherwise protect jobs elsewhere in the system. Over the past three years, he noted, the district had funded 14 teaching positions at Uwharrie Ridge out of pocket — positions the state would not cover because the school's enrollment was too low to. He described visiting a history class at Uwharrie Ridge with eight students while Randleman High School was being forced to hold the same course in its theater to accommodate more than 60 students. 

"Your kids will be fine," Cook said. "I honestly believe that."

Board member Todd Cutler argued against full immediate closure, proposing instead that high school grades be moved to Southwestern Randolph High School next year while the middle school remained open, with a longer-term goal of converting the campus into a K-8 school. "I don't want to see the Southwest District take another gut punch," Cutler said.

Board member Tracy Bowles, a 13-year board veteran whose daughter attended Uwharrie Ridge, delivered some of the meeting's most emotional remarks. He pushed back on criticism directed at board members on social media and called on the community to get more involved in local education year-round — not just when a decision affects their own children. He noted that in the last election, no one filed to run against sitting board members. “Yeah, I seem a little mad. I am mad. I don't want to make this decision. It's not easy,” Bowles said. "We've got 14,000 kids who depend on us, not 400.”

Board member Phillip Lanier raised concerns about overcrowding at Southwestern Randolph Middle School and said he was reluctant to see the building leave the school system's hands. “A new middle school today would cost $40 million to $50 million,” he noted. "I feel like we're giving away a good campus.”

By closing Uwharrie Ridge the school district will be saving around $1.3 million which would count toward $2 million in additional cuts the district still needs to find. According to data from NC DPI, federal funding for area schools in central North Carolina fell on average by just over 25% for the 2024-2025 school year, with more money needing to come from both the state and local districts. 

The board is expected to take up the proposed K-6 changes at Farmer and Tabernacle at its April meeting. The building will officially close June 30. While the school’s building will close at the end of the school year, the school will remain active — on paper at least — through the end of the 2027-28 school year, allowing current juniors and seniors to complete their high school careers as Uwharrie Ridge graduates.