Quicksand: no legislation for development approval and school capacity

North Carolina does not mandate that developers, municipalities and counties collaborate with public school systems to prevent overcapacity. This legislative gap creates an imbalance between growth and infrastructure, especially in fast-growing counties such as Moore, Lee and Harnett, where rural land is diminishing.

North Carolina local governments approve development, schools manage enrollment, and counties fund construction. No single authority can deny a project based on school capacity, leaving growth and infrastructure misaligned.

Each of the school systems shares enrollment data with planners. Advisory roles exist, and capacity trends are known. Yet developments continue in overcrowded zones. The problem is that the information has no binding authority in approval decisions.

As stated in the beginning, state law does not require development approvals to consider school capacity, nor does it allow most projects to be delayed or denied on that basis. Developers are not required to contribute to new school construction. As a result, growth moves forward regardless of whether classrooms are available.

Local gaps compound the problem. In Sanford, council members were unaware of a two-year-old change in school advisory for the planning board, raising concerns about how consistently school input is understood at a decision level by the city council.

The result is a predictable cycle: development is approved, enrollment rises, and schools exceed capacity. Districts then respond with trailer classrooms or bus students on long journeys from their neighborhoods.

Through bonds and funding measures, taxpayers cover the expenses as growth expands the Sandhills and pushes its schools, critical for future prosperity, into a state of instability.

This is quicksand.

This article shows budget requests increasing for each of the counties’ charter schools to accommodate growth. Charter schools can operate in alternative facilities but still follow state regulations and building codes.

This article seeks to inform and call for action, as North Carolina is one of the fastest-growing states.

Moore County Schools has two high schools at overcapacity: Pinecrest with 644 over and Union Pines with 380.

“This is why addressing high school capacity has been, and continues to be, a top priority in our facility planning efforts. Most other schools are operating within or near their designed capacity. Moore County Schools continues to monitor enrollment trends and plan accordingly to meet the needs of our growing district,” writes Chief Communications Officer Charles Batchelor.

“Our county planning department works cooperatively with our Operations Department, which shares updated capacity numbers and projections with them each year. Each time ITRE [transportation department] updates our capacity charts, they work with the county as well as each municipality individually to ensure all projected growth is considered,” Batchelor shared.

According to the district’s website, Pinecrest High School and Union Pines High Schools were formally “capped,” meaning they are closed to most new transfers because they are at or above 95% capacity.

Moore County Commissioners and municipalities have approved residential developments in southern Moore County over the past several years around Pinehurst, Southern Pines, Aberdeen and the U.S. Highway 1 corridor. Those developments feed into the Pinecrest and Union Pines schools, even after Moore County Schools warned that enrollment growth tied to housing development was outpacing school construction and long-term facilities planning.

Expected growing pains are projected in the 2026-27 budget.

Moore County Schools proposed a $167.7 million budget for 2026-27, requesting $42.1 million in county funds, a 4.4% increase from last year.

The increase covers rising fixed costs, not new programs.

School operations face growth challenges, prioritizing construction, facilities, transport, and staffing. Public input also urged infrastructure and maintenance investment.

The budget presentation shows continued charter school enrollment growth and higher local transfer costs.

Lee County Schools shared that ITRE sends updates to the planning board.

“The capacity number at each school is building capacity as the school was built. However, we also must keep in mind our capacity with state-mandated ratios for class sizes at each school. In some cases, the state mandated ratio limits the number of seats available in a significant way compared to the listed building capacity as built. Right now, we have three campuses where there are no additional seats remaining to keep within state mandated class sizes. This is the case at Deep River, J. Glenn Edwards, and Greenwood Elementary Schools, all areas where our county is experiencing significant growth,” Lee County Schools’ Public Information Officer James Alverson shared.

A communication error occurred during a March 24 Sanford City Council meeting, as board members failed to realize the former school advisor had departed the school two years prior and that two new advisors had replaced them as advisors to the planning board. This misunderstanding rings alarms because the council makes final decisions on development approvals. It is unclear how much the council does not know prior to approval requests because the council has limited discussions between members during public meetings. It does not record work sessions. It does not provide live video, but shares a recorded version of regular meetings as their form of transparency.

Rapid growth, rising operational costs, staffing shortages, and aging facilities are driving Lee County School’s 2026-27 budget request. In the budget presentation, Superintendent Chris Dossenbach wrote that “as our buildings age and our district continues to grow,” the district must invest in facilities, maintenance, and staffing to support students and operations.

The district requested an increase of $5.68 million from county commissioners, including $3.56 million in current expense funding and $2.12 million in capital funding. If approved, the current expense budget would rise to about $26.75 million.

Charter school payments increased 18.6% over the previous year, adding about $315,000 in expenses.

Lee County Schools reported nearly $950,000 in operational increases for utilities, insurance, maintenance, and employee supplements. Water costs increased by 49%.

Nearly 57% of departing employees cited pay. Lee County Schools asked for more money for classified staff pay and teacher supplements.

“Responsible growth requires mandatory coordination between counties, municipalities, planners, developers, and school systems before major development decisions are made, not after infrastructure and taxpayer costs are already committed.

One issue that deserves more public discussion is that schools themselves function as major development drivers, yet they are not held to the same long-range infrastructure and land-use standards expected of private developers.

When schools are placed in rural areas without existing infrastructure, counties are frequently asked to extend roads, utilities, and services using taxpayer dollars, grants, and operational funding.

Once that infrastructure is extended into previously rural areas, those corridors inevitably become attractive targets for future residential and commercial development. At that point, preserving farmland, open space, and rural community character becomes increasingly difficult, if not impossible.

This is not an argument against schools. Strong schools are essential to strong communities. However, school site selection should be part of a unified countywide growth strategy that carefully considerts infrastructure capacity, fiscal impact, transportation, emergency services, and long term land use consequences.

Taxpayers deserve transparent collarboration and responsible planning that balances educational needs with the protection of rural communities and sustainable growth for future generations,” Chairperson Sherry Womack writes.

“Harnett County is fortunate to be in a position where we have been growing as new development has occurred in the last several years. Some of this growth has created shifts in our schools’ enrollment, and we are continuing to plan for future growth. Currently, we are constructing Flat Woods Middle School, which will open in the Fall of 2027, and are in the planning phases for Highland High School, with a targeted opening of the Fall of 2029. We also completed additions to Highland High School, Dunn Elementary School and Overhills Elementary School in recent years. All of these plans are working towards a goal of reducing the use of mobile classrooms where possible and incorporating our shifting enrollment. We are working to update our capacity numbers based on these recent projects,” Assistant Superintendent Chris Pearson writes about school capacity and updating the figures over the summer of 2026.

According to enrollment charts and the provided 2024 capacity chart, Harnett Central High School is over capacity by four students. Harnett Central Middle School has room for 170 more students.

The Overhills area had and continues to have rapid growth from Fort Bragg families. Overhills High School is over capacity with 414 students. Overhills Middle School has room for one additional student.

Suburban development has led to rising enrollment, where Western Harnett High School is over capacity with 144 students.

The Harnett County Planning Board is advised by two school staff members on capacity issues. The county updated its UDO March 2026. It has a policy on bus stops, but no regulations on collaborating with developers.

Rapid growth, overcrowding, teacher pay increases, and aging facilities strain Harnett County Schools’ funding, requiring over $180 million.

On May 4, the Harnett County School Board met with county commissioners to discuss the 2026-27 budget request.

Harnett County Schools requested a $48.3 million county appropriation, an increase from $39.9 million, to sustain and grow operations. That includes $8.28 million in additional expenses tied to charter school payments, staffing, and benefits.

The district must cover $1.15 million in charter school costs from enrollment growth and over $4 million to boost teacher supplements.

The most urgent pressure is the facilities. The district requested $137.6 million in capital outlay, with $135.4 million for new and renovated schools in the first tier of projects. This includes major needs:

These needs are due to enrollment growth in one of North Carolina’s fastest-growing counties. The district noted that an increasing student population and facility strain pushed for the requested increase.

Authority

Local governments approve rezoning and subdivisions, while counties fund school construction and school boards manage student capacity. State law does not mandate that they work together to align decisions before development is approved. This results in growth without a plan to serve new students and sometimes results in lost rural lands.

A second gap in legislation is allowing schools free rein to find land for schools, ignoring requirements other developers must follow. This often results in schools built in areas without existing infrastructure: water, sewer, public safety, and emergency services with timely response times, which means municipalities and counties must step up and often face deficits. Later, these areas are breeding grounds for subdivisions. Schools are development and it seems logical they follow the same requirements.

Consequences

The rapid expansion of housing developments outpaces school capacity to accommodate new students, resulting in overcrowded classrooms, reliance on temporary structures, and increased pressure on educators and educational resources.

Delayed and reactive school construction results in stressed students and staff.

Education systems react to population growth, often needing bonds or aid rather than strategic planning.

Developers are not required to contribute, so taxpayers pay for new schools.

Overcrowding can affect student outcomes, teacher retention, and access to programs.

Residents see development approved despite known school capacity issues, creating frustration, a perception of unbalanced priorities. Citizens lose trust in elected officials.

Even with shared data, school capacity is not a legal factor for developers.

North Carolina law prevents linking development permits to school capacity.

The following draft serves as a letter to send your representatives.

Request for Legislative Action to Align Development with School Capacity

Dear North Carolina General Assembly,

Communities across Moore, Lee, and Harnett counties are experiencing rapid growth. While this growth brings opportunity, it also exposes a critical gap in our state’s planning framework: residential development is not required to account for public school capacity.

We respectfully ask for your leadership in addressing this issue through legislation that ensures responsible, coordinated growth.

Specifically, we propose legislation requiring:

1. School Capacity Acknowledgement

Before approval of major residential developments, developers should be required to:

Consult with the local school district

Receive a formal statement of current and projected school capacity

Sign a capacity acknowledgement confirming awareness of the impact their project will have on local schools

2. Capacity-Based Development Responsibility

Where schools are at or projected to exceed capacity, developers should be required to choose one of the following:

Scale development appropriately.

Adjust the number of units or phase construction to align with available school capacity.

or

Contribute to capacity expansion.

Provide a proportional financial contribution or land dedication to support new school construction or expansion.

3. Local Implementation Flexibility

Allow counties and municipalities to:

Apply these requirements based on local growth conditions.

Collaborate with school districts to determine capacity thresholds and contribution formulas.

This approach does not stop growth. It ensures that growth is sustainable.

It protects:

Students from overcrowded learning environments.

Teachers from unsustainable classroom conditions.

Taxpayers from bearing the full cost of growth-related infrastructure.

4. Schools are Major Developers

Mandate school districts to follow the same standards and procedures as developers for site selection. School boards are not made up of long-range planners or engineers. Setting them loose to choose a site for a new school can result in mismanaged taxpayer dollars. While collaborative site selection under strict developer requirements reduces taxpayer burdens, costly mistakes in land procurement, infrastructure expansion into areas where Land Use Plans do not want development and reduces strain on school systems to provide transportation or bus students from their neighborhoods.

It also promotes transparency by ensuring developers, local governments, and school systems work from the same information before decisions are made.

North Carolina has prioritized expanding housing supply. However, housing policy must be balanced with infrastructure realities, especially public education, because students are the future of North Carolina and beyond.

By adopting a school capacity acknowledgement and responsibility framework, the General Assembly can:

Preserve local flexibility.

Support growing communities.

Ensure that development and education move forward together.

We urge you to consider and support legislation that closes this gap and strengthens the long-term health of our communities.

Respectfully,

Your name

Find your legislators and their addresses here. Emails go unread. Phone calls are not always returned and not recorded. Mail a letter for your voice to be heard and counted.

May 5, 2026

Stephanie M. Sellers

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