NHC Board of Education calls on state to fill gap in exceptional student support funds

NEW HANOVER COUNTY (WWAY) — The New Hanover County Board of Education is asking the state to step in and pay for a gap in funding for programs for exceptional students. 

School board member Josie Barnhart presented a resolution calling on state representatives to fill the gap in funding for exceptional students. 

Right now, the state caps exceptional student funding at 13% of the county’s general student population. 

However, exceptional students in New Hanover County Schools make up close to 14% of the district’s total student population — which accounts for one percent funding short-fall. 

On Wednesday, Barnhart addressed why she thinks additional funding is necessary. 

“It just shows the percentage of EC students that we have, the amount of money that we do not, that we have to make up with local funds to support that, and what we would be able to do as a board is having these numbers, we could have consistent messaging so we can have a target support for these students.” 

Barnhart says that the shortfall is about $560,000, and one of the solutions involves a tiered model that bases funding on student need versus a flat amount.