The state is requiring the school district to undergo a review of its internal budget controls in light of its massive debt, currently totaling around $37 million.

North Carolina Senate Bill 249, An Act to Realign the North Carolina Congressional Districts, passed the General Assembly earlier this month. SB 249 changes the composition of Districts 1 and 3 to favor the GOP candidate in future elections and deliver an additional Republican vote in the U.S. House of Representatives. The bill's original sponsor was Democratic State Sen. Paul Lowe, who explains how his bill died, but was later taken up in the General Assembly, transformed, and used to redraw the maps.

In Richlands, Civil War History Center Educational director, Dr. Michael McElreath and history professors from Appalachian State University and University of North Carolina - Wilmington led discussions on the Civil War in Eastern North Carolina and how best to teach both about the causes of the war and divisions in the United States today.

President Donald Trump's call for Republicans to redraw U.S. House districts ahead of next year's election has triggered an unusual outbreak of mid-decade gerrymandering among both Republican- and Democratic-led state legislatures.