News Lines May 2-10 in Moore, Lee and Harnett counties

As growth pressures mount across Moore, Lee and Harnett counties, elected officials debated how development, school capacity, infrastructure and taxpayer costs intersect as farmland diminishes.

On May 4, the Moore County Board of Commissioners and the planning board met and decided that the current rules are mostly in line with the Oct. 2025 Land Use Plan (LUP), after reviewing proposed changes to the Uniform Development Ordinance (UDO).

Clashes arose regarding the control of expansion. Chairman Nick Picerno said the comprehensive land use plans were complicated, and he did not want to add restrictions developers would say were an expensive nuisance. Only a small portion of the county can support major subdivisions. “I thought we lived in the United States of America,” Picerno said, criticizing efforts to “fix a problem” he did not see.

Commissioners agreed on one point: water availability dictates growth. They raised concerns about municipalities expanding rapidly while relying on county infrastructure, especially water, schools and public safety.

County Manager Wayne Vest described subdivision regulations as layered “like an onion” and noted state limits on down-zoning under Senate Bill 382. The law restricts reducing the number of homes allowed per acre, shaping what changes are possible.

From zoning rules to $1.5 million in school funding to development changes and sheriff contracts, Moore County Commissioners faced a packed agenda at their May 5 meeting.

The board approved a $1.5 million lottery fund draw for summer school maintenance projects, including roof replacements and repairs at the Child Nutrition Building at $46,774, Union Pines High School CTE Agriculture/Automotive building at $152,992, and North Moore High School canopy roof at $246,890, along with engineering fees and replacement of lift stations at West Pine Middle and Sandhills Farm Life Elementary, estimated at $1,053,344.

Moore County Schools proposed a $167.7 million budget for 2026–27, requesting $41.27 million, a $1.77 million increase.

The $1.61 million increase stemmed from fixed costs such as salary adjustments, benefits, inflation, and charter school growth. A conservative approach relies on modest revenue and $1.7 million fund balance to maintain services.

The district shared a presentation.

Chairman Nick Picerno said that in 2023 the school’s fund balance was at $12 million and increased the next year to $14 million, and this year decreased to $13.4 million.

Interim Superintendent Jennifer Purvis attributed the changes to teacher vacancies. 

However, “Moore County Schools’ proposed $167.7M budget faces $428,000 shortfall” from March 3, 2026, shares:

“Member Steve Johnson said the higher than expected general fund base was due to not awarding pay raises. When he said special education teachers, not funded by the state, needed support by legislation, Interim Superintendent Jennifer Purvis clarified that county commissioners are seeking legislative support.

On top of all this, aging facilities, without maintenance and repairs, weigh heavily on the district.

While the budget shows conservatism, federal compliance, and transparency of fixed costs, it reveals a need to tighten spending and use the fund balance instead of reserves.

Former Superintendent Tim Locklair proposed changing the minimum reserve fund balance from the longstanding $2 million practice for FY 2025-26. On Oct.13, 2025, he recommended lowering that reserve floor, saying to reduce it down to $1.5 million or $1 million to allow for state-mandated salary increases. The board approved his proposal.”

View the Moore County Schools video on Oct. 13, 2025, beginning at 4:05 minutes to hear the conversation on reducing the fund balance reserves and Locklair’s reply on how he might be able to replace the half a million.

At the Oct. 13, 2025, meeting, Member Pauline Bruno said she believed they were headed down the wrong road, and Hensley said the 2024-25 budget was $166 million, not a million less, as Locklair said, and the final budget spend left $685,404 in the fund balance.

The growth of enrollment and fund balance, according to Hensley, needed to be the focus for the county commissioners and legislators when calculating the budget needs.

“I just want to know where the money goes,” Hensley said at the Oct. 13, 2025, meeting because enrollment had increased by only 200, and they had inadequate pay raises but increased the budget.

Picerno said the county had funded the district slightly over 40% to cover the SROs, and since the board formally approved the sheriff’s office deputies to cover school security at their May 5 meeting, the county will fund schools based on the original amount of 38.5%.

On May 4, the Lee County Board of Commissioners discussed adding formal procedures to remove a chair and clarify board authority, but delayed action for up to 100 days. They reviewed stalled EMS negotiations, millions in park upgrades and parking shortages, and a school capital plan that could require tax increases to avoid long-term deficits.

The Lee County Athletic Park (LCAP) project was completed under budget, except for the final entrance paving. About $3.48 million remains after setting aside funds for the paving. While restricted by bond requirements, the remaining funds may support other park needs across the county.

The board voted to fund an additional parking lot, equipment for the LCAP (see image below), and the refinishing of the tennis courts at Kiwanis Children’s Park, totaling $1,480,275.

Parks and Recreation Director Joseph Keel presented updates and requests for the county parks totaling about $3,011,600.

Sanford City Council said goodbye to Reeves Ridge Farm under the direction of Plan SanLee (land use plans) when it approved rezoning 60.04 acres at 1041 Carthage Street, with road frontage on Wicker Street opposite the Kiwanis Family Park and Timberwood Place Apartments, from Urban Neighborhood and General Commercial to the Parkside Village Conditional Zoning District. The historic farm will be developed with 271 homes.

Sanford contracted with LKC Engineering for the CAM Site Elevated Storage Tank & Water Main Project at $8,474,600. The project installs 1,600 feet of 16-inch water line for a new water tank serving Wolfspeed and the Chatham Area Manufacturing site. Tank size will be 500,000 or 1 million gallons.

Sanford appropriated $64,040 from the general fund for the Sanford Agricultural Marketplace: $12k for a security system and $52,040 for two months’ salary for the new Public Facilities and Parks Coordinator, a vehicle, uniforms and a computer.

Harnett County Commissioners approved a data center moratorium, $110M PFAS plan, and social media comment censorship policy

Harnett County Commissioners adopted a one-year moratorium on data centers, approved spending $110,000,000 to “reduce PFAS,” and moved to censure public comments on social media at the May 4 meeting.

Government social media pages are public forums, barring comment removal due to disagreement risks suppressing protected speech.

Terms about compromising public safety or targeting any group of people are open to interpretation and could lead to selective enforcement. Comments may be treated differently based on who is reviewing them, which raises concerns about fairness and bias. This risk is amplified by the absence of an appeals process, leaving the public without recourse for comment removal.

This policy clashes with public records requirements because North Carolina government social media posts are public records. Unarchived comment deletion risks compliance issues. Furthering the censure policy’s consequences, restricting private business promotion may hinder community interaction and seem inconsistent with county business engagement.

Rapid growth strains Harnett County Schools’ funding, requiring over $180 million for current and future needs due to overcrowding, rising teacher pay, and aging facilities.

On May 4, the Harnett County School Board met with county commissioners to discuss to 2026-27 budget request, which highlights a gap due to growth, staffing, and facilities.

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.

An editorial by Linda Hoover on gerrymandering , aka redistricting, and Robert M. Levy’s editorial on redistricting shared insights from two perspectives.

The editorial by Rahnà·wakę·w Donnie McDowell, a North Carolina Tuscarora, shared how the history of his people was not absorbed and forgotten, but alive, in “Resisting conformity, Robeson County Tuscarora preserve tribal claims against assimilation.” The Tuscarora Nation of North Carolina and its communities remain the inheritors of reservation era lands, treaty era relationships, and longstanding Indigenous communities stretching across Robeson, Cumberland, Bladen, Sampson, Scotland, Columbus, and adjoining counties into South Carolina.”

The investigative article, “Quicksand: no legislation for development approval and school capacity,” shows how a lack of legislation leads to school overcapacity and strain on districts at taxpayers’ expense, as each county requested more funds for charter school enrollments. Charter schools may be housed in repurposed buildings and save the districts funds in capital improvements.

School districts, which are major developers, are allowed to choose site selections at will and without oversight because there is no law forcing them to follow the same standards as developers, sometimes resulting in expanded infrastructure in rural areas, as they set the table for further development and enable the loss of rural countryside and open spaces.

Enjoy the Teen News video!

May 10, 2026

Stephanie M. Sellers

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