Funding squeeze raises burnout risks

Pitt County Schools says next year’s budget gap could mean fewer teachers, bigger classes and heavier workloads in classrooms across the district. (reflector.com) Superintendent Steve Lassiter told parents and educators at a Thursday “The Road Ahead” listening tour at Pitt Community College that the district expects to lose millions in state funding for 2026-27. District leaders have said the drop could total about $6 million and affect 67 teaching positions. (reflector.com, wcti12.com) Lassiter said Pitt County Schools plans to absorb the cuts through attrition rather than layoffs, with 14 state-funded and 53 locally funded positions slated to disappear as employees retire or leave. He told families the district has to “operate within the state formula,” which limits how many teaching jobs it can fund on its own. (reflector.com, newsbreak.com) The immediate trigger is enrollment. Pitt County Schools said a decline in 2024-25 student counts will reduce the state allotment it receives for next school year, and district officials are also budgeting without a finalized North Carolina state budget. (newsbreak.com, wcti12.com) Parents have asked whether larger classes will follow, and teachers have asked whether the district can keep pushing for higher proficiency while cutting staff. At a recent listening session, first-grade teacher Whitney Curry said educators are “basically being asked to do more with less,” and Lassiter said he agreed. (reflector.com, newsbreak.com) The staffing strain lands on a district that already has regular turnover. Pitt County Schools reported that 198 of its 1,555 teachers left between March 2024 and March 2025, for a 12.7% attrition rate, down from 16.3% the year before but still above the statewide 10.11% rate. (newsbreak.com, dpi.nc.gov) North Carolina’s Department of Public Instruction said the 2024-25 attrition rate was between 14% and 18% for teachers with zero to five years of experience, and as high as 25% for some veteran groups. That means districts trying to cover more classes with fewer people are doing it in a labor market that is already unstable. (dpi.nc.gov, dpi.nc.gov) Pitt County Schools has tried to reassure employees that it is still hiring in some areas and is advertising openings ahead of a job fair scheduled for April 18 at J.H. Rose High School. But Lassiter told families he wants schools “funded appropriately” so districts are not pushed toward larger and larger class sizes. (pitt.k12.nc.us, reflector.com, stayhappening.com)