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The recent economic activity in Aurora is an asset which will provide benefits to the citizens of Aurora and Richland Township. The decline of population in Aurora and Richland Township remains the largest concern.

According to Data Commons and Census Reporter, Richland Township had an estimated 2023 population of 2602 within 168.5 square miles. The median age of 53.2 is higher than 47.2 for Beaufort County. The poverty rate for children is listed as 51%.

The estimated population of Aurora was 451 in 2023 within 1.042 square miles. The population peaked at 698 in 1980 and has been in a slow decline ever since.

The decline of Snowden school student population is what is driving the possible closing of the school. This is caused by a decline in birth rates and Richland Township population. There’s no reason the downward trend is going to change. It’s been in place for decades.

Also contributing more recently are additional school choice opportunities.

100 students seem to be a magic number to evaluate whether the school should be closed. Population trends indicate that 100 will not be the bottom and will fall further. Private, charter and Pamlico County Public Schools are competitors that pull away students from S.W. Snowden. Maybe some students could return? Are there too many opportunities to go elsewhere?

I arrived at the forum at 5:30 p.m. and had no problem finding a good seat. The forum was informal. It started with a financial presentation by Superintendent Cheeseman explaining in detail the financial problems of BCS and S.W. Snowden in particular. The bulk of the night consisted of speakers expressing their opinions on the possible school closing and just about everything else.

Attendees were overwhelmingly against the school closure. A few elected officials and political activists also spoke and mostly stirred up the audience. Few parents appeared to be present and only one spoke.

Reasons I heard from speakers for keeping the school open:

1. The long trip will be a burden for the students. (Aurora is 25.5 miles from Chocowinity via Highway 33.)
2. The school is important to the future of the town of Aurora. The closing may destroy Aurora.
3. Kids love this school.
4. Community schools are needed. The county could provide additional funding.

What I believe:

Whether the school is closed or not, the number-one goal of Beaufort County Schools should be to provide the best possible education for all students attending Beaufort County Schools.

To me, the problem is Beaufort County Schools do not have adequate funding to properly operate Beaufort County Schools and provide all the services, help and instruction the students require. This includes S.W. Snowden. They do the best they can under current conditions. Other rural counties have the same problems.

If the county commission decides to address the funding problem to keep the school open for the 2025-26 school year, they face additional funding problems the following year. Closing the school will temporarily address the local funding problem but future reductions in ADM (Average Daily Membership) funding will cause the funding gap to expand districtwide in the future.

More to come in about two weeks, the rural school funding shortage is real.

Al Klemm is a Washington resident and a former Beaufort County Commissioner.