Bladen school board to meet to discuss closing date for East Arcadia School
ELIZABETHTOWN, NC (WWAY) — The Bladen County Board of Education voted Monday to close East Arcadia School and consolidate it with Clarkton School of Discovery, but board members did not settle on when the closure would take effect.
The board first approved the closure in a 5-4 vote after a lengthy discussion about the school’s future, student transportation, building conditions and declining enrollment.
But the board then failed to agree on a closing date.
A proposal to close the school effective June 30, 2027, failed in a 3-6 vote. A separate proposal to close the school effective June 30, 2026, also failed, with four members voting in favor and five opposed.
The school board’s attorney told members this created a procedural problem because the board had approved closing the school without giving Superintendent Jason Atkinson clear direction on when it should happen.
East Arcadia School, located in Riegelwood, serves students in kindergarten through fifth grade. According to the district’s school closing study, the campus currently has 58 students enrolled, well below the district’s recommended 100-student threshold for a school to remain open.
The study said all classroom buildings at East Arcadia were rated in poor condition in the 2020-2025 North Carolina Department of Public Instruction Facility Needs Survey. District officials estimated nearly $2 million in capital repairs would be needed over the next one to two years, including work on the septic system, windows, HVAC, flooring, exterior paint and cafeteria plumbing.
School leaders also cited staffing and operational challenges at the campus, including difficulty hiring a guidance counselor and exceptional children staff, the lack of a state-funded principal position because of the school’s size, and transportation issues in the remote part of the county.
Under the proposal presented to the board, East Arcadia students would be reassigned to Clarkton School of Discovery, which district leaders said has available classrooms and would require relatively limited upgrades to serve kindergarten through eighth grade students.
Some board members pushed back on the plan, arguing East Arcadia had been neglected for years and that students and families should not bear the burden of long-standing facility and funding issues. Concerns were also raised about bus ride times and the lack of a clear transition plan.
District officials said the closure study and transportation projections were largely built around a possible June 30, 2026, closure date, though they stressed the board had authority to choose a different timeline.
The board is expected to revisit the issue at a meeting on Monday, March 16 at 6:30 pm in the boardroom at the District Administration Building.
