Residents urged commissioners to prioritize school funding and remove courthouse Confederate monument during lengthy public comment period

A sustained public comment period at the June 23 Gaston County Board of Commissioners meeting featured a string of speakers urging the board to increase local funding for Gaston County Schools, improve transparency and constituent responsiveness, and relocate a Confederate monument that stands at the courthouse entrance.

Speakers stressed practical impacts. Special‑education teacher Elizabeth Conurs said the district must provide adapted curricula and services such as speech, physical therapy and one‑on‑one support and asked the board to ensure resources to meet legal obligations for vulnerable students. Parent Stephanie Hartman described her kindergarten child’s asthma and a life‑threatening food allergy and said the school nurse was on campus only two days a week this year; she characterized the staffing cuts as a student safety issue. "When support positions are reduced, those responsibilities do not disappear. They shift onto teachers who are already carrying extraordinary burdens," Hartman said.

Several speakers framed the criticism in budgetary terms. Testimony by public speakers and NAACP Vice President Danna Graham contrasted county allocations for public safety with education, citing figures presented in testimony (public safety described in testimony as roughly double the county spend on education). County Manager responded later in the meeting with context and corrected numeric bases: he said property tax collections rose about 22% from 2021‑2025 and general fund revenues grew about 23% in that period, while noting a $190 million 2025 debt‑proceeds item for school capital in state reporting that is a liability rather than operating revenue. The manager said school operating funding rose approximately 11% over the same period while capital funding increased about 51%.

Several speakers also urged removal of the Confederate monument at the courthouse entrance. Britney Elen and other residents said the monument is a painful reminder for many citizens and cited prior votes (three commissioners reportedly voted to remove it in 2020) and continued calls for relocation with historical context.

Public engagement and next steps: Commissioners and county staff said they have convened a task force and held multiple meetings with Gaston County Schools, and proposed additional one‑on‑one meetings between commissioners and school leadership to examine proposed funding options. Commissioners discussed changing their July calendar to allow timely action that aligns with the school board’s timeline.

What was not decided: No new county appropriations for schools or a formal decision on the monument occurred at this meeting; the board authorized staff to continue task force work and scheduled follow‑up briefings.

"Respect is measured by actions," resident Britney Elen told commissioners. "You say you hear us, but you rushed through a vote to approve a budget that kept school funding flat."