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My vision for the future of Cumberland County Schools

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Tuesday, 21 July 2026

Written by Tom Hatch

Nothing is more important than the education and development of our young people. The saying “children are our future” is much more than an overused and redundant cliché. For three decades, Up & Coming Weekly and Kidsville News! have been directly involved and committed to quality education in Cumberland County through our relationships with Cumberland County Schools, FTCC, Fayetteville State University, Methodist University, and Miller Motte College.

The ballot for the upcoming November election will have many candidates vying for three seats on the Cumberland County School Board. This is, without a doubt, one of the most vitally important boards in our community — a board that ultimately affects the lives of future generations and helps define the quality of life for all Cumberland County residents. 

It needs leadership that is laser focused on the latest and greatest educational resources and innovative programs, and policies that will propel and prepare our children for a prosperous future. It is surely not a place to find fault, grandstand, or to be used as a political platform for partisan bias.

U&CW readers are voters. I have invited all school board candidates to speak directly to our readers about how and why they want to serve on this very important and distinguished board. This is the first submission, and I sincerely hope all candidates will take advantage of this opportunity. This is what community newspapers do — we inform, we engage, and we help strengthen the civic fabric of Cumberland County.

Thank you for reading Up & Coming Weekly.

—Bill Bowman, Publisher

My Vision for the future of Cumberland County

For more than three decades, I have had the privilege of serving the students, families, and educators of Cumberland County. During my career as a teacher, coach, assistant principal, and principal, I have learned that while education continually evolves, one principle should never change: every decision must begin with one simple question—What is best for every student?

If the citizens of Cumberland County elect me to serve on the Board of Education this November, that question will guide every vote I cast and every decision I make.

I envision a school system where academic excellence and student well-being go hand in hand. Every child deserves access to a safe, welcoming learning environment where they are challenged to reach their full potential and supported by caring, highly qualified educators.

Excellence should not be limited by a student's ZIP code, background, or circumstances. Every school should have the resources and leadership necessary to help students succeed.

Our teachers and school employees are the foundation of our educational system. They deserve to work in schools where they feel respected, supported, and empowered to do what they do best—teach. Recruiting and retaining exceptional educators must remain one of our highest priorities. Investing in our people is one of the greatest investments we can make in our students.

As a Board member, I also believe fiscal responsibility is essential. Taxpayers deserve confidence that every dollar entrusted to our schools is spent wisely, transparently, and with students at the center of every budget decision. Strong stewardship of public resources allows us to maximize opportunities for students while maintaining the trust of our community.

The Board of Education cannot accomplish its mission alone. The strongest schools are built through partnerships among families, educators, local businesses, faith communities, and civic organizations. I want to strengthen those partnerships and ensure parents continue to have a meaningful voice in their children's education. When communities work together, students benefit.

Technology, career readiness, and workforce development will also play an increasingly important role in preparing students for life after graduation. Whether a student chooses college, military service, technical training, or enters the workforce directly, our schools should equip every graduate with the knowledge, skills, and character needed to thrive in an ever-changing world.

Finally, I believe leadership matters. Effective leadership requires listening first, seeking common ground, and making thoughtful decisions based on facts rather than politics. The Board's responsibility is not to create division but to build consensus around what is best for children. I bring experience that you can talk to!

Cumberland County has outstanding students, dedicated educators, and a community that deeply values public education. Together, we have the opportunity to build upon those strengths and create an educational system that prepares every student for success while earning the confidence of the families we serve.

If I am given the opportunity to serve, I will remain committed to the principle that has guided my entire career: always do what's best for every student.

(Photo: Tom Hatch will be running for one of the open seats on the Cumberland County Board of Education this November. Photo courtesy of Tom Hatch)

Mass production can ease housing woes

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Tuesday, 14 July 2026

Written by John Hood

I agree with homebuilders, would-be homebuyers, business executives, trade associations, legislative leaders, and Gov. Josh Stein that one of North Carolina’s biggest challenges is the lack of affordable housing across broad swaths of our state.

“In high growth regions, rising development costs and insufficient supply have intensified affordability pressures,” the Stein administration observed in a recent strategic plan, “while in rural and disaster-impacted communities, limited housing stock and infrastructure gaps continue to impede recovery and long-term economic competitiveness.”

True enough. But I wonder how many state leaders would agree with one of my favorite ideas: expanding the use of manufactured and modular housing.

Just as mass production has driven down the cost of food, clothing, furnishings, vehicles, electronics, and other goods, homes built largely or entirely within factories would meet the needs of many North Carolinians without recourse to elaborate planning schemes or massive taxpayer subsidies.

This is no theoretical matter. Manufactured homes already play a substantial role in housing affordability. They account for about 13% of North Carolina’s current housing stock, with the share soaring to a quarter or higher in some of our rural counties. Yes, some are aging “trailers” with cramped quarters and limited amenities. But modern (post-1976) versions are attractive homes with efficient layouts and modern conveniences nearly indistinguishable from stick-built starter homes of similar size and capacity.

As for modular houses, they are transported to or assembled on permanent foundations and designed to comply with state building codes. Although manufactured houses can also be permanently sited, what distinguishes them from modular ones is that the former meet federal rather than state standards.

Mass production can slash the cost of producing homes by 50% or more per square foot. While the final differential isn’t always this large, because of the price of land and other fixed costs — a recent Harvard University study found that a double-wide on a median quarter-acre lot was 70% of the cost of a comparable site-built house — manufactured and modular housing are economical choices for many customers and ought to be easier for North Carolinians to acquire and live in.

State law does not allow counties or municipalities to impose regulations based on the age or perceived value of housing units. But North Carolina localities can use zoning and other means to restrict where factory-built housing can be sited. Many do so, confining them to what are still dismissively described as “mobile-home parks.” Localities can also regulate “appearance” so onerously that many manufactured homes are, for all practical purposes, excluded. Many parcels of land are also under covenants that restrict factory-built homes.

I don’t favor legislative action to nullify private contracts. But I do think the General Assembly should protect the rights of current and prospective homeowners from local regulators. What some snooty neighbors or heavy-handed planners may view with disdain, North Carolinians of modest means — young couples, seasonal workers, downsizing seniors, etc. — may well view with relief, pleasure, even excitement.

“Manufactured homes have a huge potential for expansion if the zoning and financing were improved,” wrote Laurie Goodman in a 2023 paper in Business Economics. “These homes can be built off-site which makes it much more economic in terms of labor costs; the factories can be run 24 hours a day with no forced time off due to bad weather.”

Some argue that factory-built homes may work as residences but not as means of accumulating wealth. I don’t think housing ought to be a household’s primary nest egg. But the truth is that when manufactured homes are permanently sited and the owners have title to the land as well as the structure, they tend to appreciate at about the same rate as other homes.

When my colleagues and I opened the doors of the John Locke Foundation in 1990, one of the think tank’s first recommendations was that North Carolina be more welcoming to factory-built housing. It was a good idea then. Now it is an imperative. 

Editor’s Note: John Hood is a John Locke Foundation board member. His books Mountain Folk, Forest Folk, and Water Folk combine epic fantasy with American history (FolkloreCycle.com).

The room you're looking for

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Tuesday, 14 July 2026

Written by Dan DeBruler

Several years ago, I visited my hometown and drove past the house where I grew up. The street was the same, but a few trees were missing. The rest were much bigger. Everything looked exactly as it had—yet it was all completely different.

The family living there had no idea I was slowing down and looking. And they certainly didn't know what I drove away with — the weight of what had changed, what was lost, what I wished I could hold again — was no lighter than when I turned onto that street.

In one way or another, we all go back. We drive past old houses. We scroll through old photographs. We find ourselves in a quiet moment, mentally walking the halls of something that used to be. And there's an ache in it. Because when you go back, no matter how hard you try, the present won't change.

Frederick Buechner once wrote about a dream he had. In it, he was searching a hotel for a room he'd found on a previous stay — a room that felt perfectly right, like it had been made just for him. He asked the desk clerk how to find it. The clerk said he could — but only if he asked for it by its right name.

The name of the room was Remember.

Buechner described it as the place "where the past lives on as a part of the present, where the dead are alive again, where we are most alive ourselves… and to where our journeys have brought us." The room called Remember is not the room where we change things. It's the room where we understand things — where we sit still long enough to see what was actually happening in the moments we lived through, usually moving too fast to notice.

Here's what I've come to believe: we go back because we're looking for something. Maybe it’s peace. Perhaps clarity. The feeling that we were loved, that we mattered, that the years added up to something worth having. But we keep looking in the wrong place. We look in the physical act of return — the old house, the old photograph, the same memory played on a loop.

What we're actually looking for is already inside us. It's the grace of a God who was present in every chapter of the story we lived. Buechner said it simply: "To remember the past is to see that we are here today by grace, that we have survived as a gift."

The prophet Jeremiah, sitting in the rubble of everything he'd loved, wrote something similarly remarkable. "Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed." (Lamentations 3:21-22, NIV) He couldn't go back and change what Jerusalem had become. But he could enter the room called Remember. And there — buried under the ruins — he found evidence of mercy.

You can't change the present by going back. But you can change how you carry it forward — by remembering, honestly and humbly, that love was there all along.

Several years ago, I visited my hometown and drove past the house where I grew up. The street was the same, but a few trees were missing. The rest were much bigger. Everything looked exactly as it had—yet it was all completely different.

The family living there had no idea I was slowing down and looking. And they certainly didn't know what I drove away with — the weight of what had changed, what was lost, what I wished I could hold again — was no lighter than when I turned onto that street.

In one way or another, we all go back. We drive past old houses. We scroll through old photographs. We find ourselves in a quiet moment, mentally walking the halls of something that used to be. And there's an ache in it. Because when you go back, no matter how hard you try, the present won't change.

Frederick Buechner once wrote about a dream he had. In it, he was searching a hotel for a room he'd found on a previous stay — a room that felt perfectly right, like it had been made just for him. He asked the desk clerk how to find it. The clerk said he could — but only if he asked for it by its right name.

The name of the room was Remember.

Buechner described it as the place "where the past lives on as a part of the present, where the dead are alive again, where we are most alive ourselves… and to where our journeys have brought us." The room called Remember is not the room where we change things. It's the room where we understand things — where we sit still long enough to see what was actually happening in the moments we lived through, usually moving too fast to notice.

Here's what I've come to believe: we go back because we're looking for something. Maybe it’s peace. Perhaps clarity. The feeling that we were loved, that we mattered, that the years added up to something worth having. But we keep looking in the wrong place. We look in the physical act of return — the old house, the old photograph, the same memory played on a loop.

What we're actually looking for is already inside us. It's the grace of a God who was present in every chapter of the story we lived. Buechner said it simply: "To remember the past is to see that we are here today by grace, that we have survived as a gift."

The prophet Jeremiah, sitting in the rubble of everything he'd loved, wrote something similarly remarkable. "Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed." (Lamentations 3:21-22, NIV) He couldn't go back and change what Jerusalem had become. But he could enter the room called Remember. And there — buried under the ruins — he found evidence of mercy.

You can't change the present by going back. But you can change how you carry it forward — by remembering, honestly and humbly, that love was there all along.

Troy's Perspective: Teen Takeovers in Fayetteville

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Tuesday, 14 July 2026

Written by Troy Williams

Fayetteville has seen a rise in organized 'teen takeovers,' where large groups of young people gather without authorization and often coordinate through social media. These events threaten community safety and disrupt daily life, making it crucial that we act now. Fayetteville's Cross Creek Mall has experienced recurring unauthorized pop-up gatherings that have caused disruptions, altercations, and reportedly led to temporary business closures or evacuations.

During the July 4th weekend in Raleigh, thousands of teenagers attended several gatherings, which culminated in a large fight near a movie theater. This incident included gunfire that injured two adult bystanders. Additionally, there were two more shootings at different locations, resulting in a total of eight people injured by gunshots. In response to these events, Raleigh officials are now considering implementing a youth curfew.

Unpermitted meetups have become a statewide issue, raising significant public concern. Law enforcement officials are compelled to closely monitor online flyers and group chats as a precautionary measure to ensure public safety. However, these actions are merely responses to the problem, not solutions. The critical question remains: how can responsible adults prevent these incidents from recurring?

We should consider whether modern parenting is contributing to the creation of troubled kids, as parents take on the role of Dr. Frankenstein when children behave like little monsters. Reflecting on our parenting approaches can help us better guide our children and prevent behavioral issues that lead to community disturbances.

The causes of the childhood mental health epidemic are multiple and varied. One social psychologist argued convincingly that smartphones and social media are the culprits, taking a toll on children's well-being.

When law enforcement becomes the response to the challenges we face in raising our children, we must ask ourselves: Where did we go wrong, and what can we do differently? We need to find solutions to the issues that affect our ability to raise children in today's culture with stronger parenting, stronger families, a solid faith foundation, better mentoring, accountability, education, discipline, love, and community involvement.

Will curfews solve our youth problems? I seriously doubt it, and there are valid arguments on both sides of this issue. My concern about curfews is that they may lead to increased police interactions with young people, which likely won’t result in positive long-term outcomes. I haven't seen any data that would convince me otherwise.

However, "teen takeovers" pose a public safety risk to everyone, and if law enforcement is our only option, that's what we will have to use.