Brian D. Rupp, Democratic candidate 
Brunswick County Board of Education, District 5
Career: Leadership professional
Education: BA business management, University of Maryland 

Q: What qualifies you to serve on the Brunswick County Board of Education? 
A: I bring a combination of real-world experience, community involvement, and a strong belief in public education. I’m a parent with a child in Brunswick County Schools, a veteran, and someone who has spent a lot of time listening to teachers, staff, parents, and students across the county. I also understand leadership, accountability, and the importance of making decisions based on facts rather than politics. I don’t believe a board member needs to pretend to have every answer. I think the job is to ask good questions, listen to the people doing the work, understand the data, and make decisions that put students first. Most importantly, I live here, my family is invested here, and I care deeply about what Brunswick County Schools will look like ten and twenty years from now. 

Q: Name one top policy change you want to see and how you will get that passed.
A: One change I would push for is a formal, long-range growth and enrollment planning policy. Brunswick County is growing too quickly for school planning to be reactive. I want the district to annually connect housing approvals, student-generation rates, enrollment projections, school capacity, and future construction needs. That information should be public and should guide decisions before schools become overcrowded. I would work with our county commissioners to build the policy, bring it through the appropriate board committee process, and make sure the public has an opportunity to weigh in before a final vote. The goal is simple: Stop waiting until we have a capacity crisis to begin planning for one. 

Q: Per the most recent state report cards, Brunswick County Schools reduced its “low-performing schools” from five to two in the 2025-2026 school year. What do you think is working to reduce the schools with this designation and what do you think the district should be doing to address the schools that are still low-performing?
A: This year’s improvement is significant. Brunswick went from five low-performing schools to two. Four schools — Bolivia Elementary, Cedar Grove Elementary, Leland Middle, and Lincoln Elementary — came off the list. The district reports that 14 of 20 schools met or exceeded expected growth, 18 improved their overall performance score, and seven improved a full letter grade. District leaders have credited stronger leadership, more consistent instruction, and reduced chronic absenteeism.

The lesson here is that the district should identify exactly what changed in those four schools and reproduce it where possible.

For Supply Elementary and South Brunswick Middle, I would want school-specific improvement plans rather than one generic district solution. Look at leadership, attendance, teacher vacancies and turnover, student growth by subject, intervention programs, and where students are falling behind. Then put measurable goals around those issues and report progress publicly.

If something is working somewhere else in Brunswick County, we should be benchmarking that process and building policy around that success. 

Q: Earlier this year, the school district and county commissioners signed off on setting aside 12 acres of a 98-acre Supply parcel to become a teacher housing complex. Do you support this initiative; why or why not? Do you think the district should explore other opportunities like this?
A: I like the idea because it attacks a real problem without pretending it replaces better teacher pay. It should be viewed as one recruitment and retention tool. I would want clear answers about construction cost, maintenance, eligibility, length of residency, liability, and whether the project remains financially sustainable. If this model proves successful then, yes, I think Brunswick should explore similar partnerships or opportunities, but only where they make financial sense and do not interfere with land needed for future schools. 

Q: Is there a capital need that you would have liked to see make it onto the school bond? How would you work to fund that project in the future?
A: I would have liked the bond to go further to address future capacity. I’ve said publicly that I support the bond, but I also believe it is smaller than the growth challenge facing us. My concern isn’t simply what Brunswick County needs today; it’s what we are going to need 10 years from now. I would have preferred additional school capacity to remain in the package rather than being reduced during the process.

Going forward, I would push for a rolling 10-year capital improvement plan tied directly to enrollment and development projections. Funding shouldn’t depend solely on another large referendum. We should look at county capital appropriations, lottery funds, impact-related revenue where legally available, state construction funding, grants, and planned future debt issuance. Most importantly, the board and commissioners need to start planning together earlier so we aren’t constantly trying to catch up. 

Q: If the bond passes with a new elementary school and high school, the district would have to look at redistricting for these schools in the future. If you had to redistrict as a board member, how would you go about that process?
A: Redistricting is probably one of the hardest decisions a school board makes because it affects families very personally. I would start with transparency. Before lines were drawn, the public should know the goals: relieving overcrowding, filling new schools appropriately, minimizing transportation times, maintaining feeder patterns, and avoiding unnecessary disruption. I do not believe you can redistrict a growing county without making somebody unhappy, but people are much more likely to accept a difficult decision when they understand “why” it is necessary. Once they understand and are given a chance to participate in the decision making, buy-in becomes easier. My goal would be a process that is predictable, data-driven, and as fair as possible. 

Q: Since Brunswick County is the fastest growing in the state and one of the fastest in the nation, how do you view your role in coordinating the management of that growth with the county commissioners? 
A: The board of education cannot manage school growth by itself. Commissioners control significant funding and land-use decisions, while the school board sees the consequences of that growth in classrooms, buses, staffing, and school capacity. Those two conversations have to happen together.

The latest Census estimates Brunswick County at about 175,000 residents, up nearly 28% since 2020. With that context, I would push for regular joint planning meetings between the education board, commissioners, county planning staff, and school administration. When thousands of homes are approved, we should already be estimating how many students they may generate and where those students will attend school. Growth should not surprise us. 

Q: Do you think the schools are adequately funded, and if not, where do you think there should be improvements? How will you advocate for these improvements? 
A: No, schools are not adequately funded and as a parent it makes me angry. North Carolina has the 12th largest GDP in the nation, but is 51st in funding effort.

I would prioritize teacher and staff compensation, classroom support, exceptional children’s services, school safety, CTE and workforce programs, and the personnel necessary to support struggling students. At the same time, I think the board has an obligation to demonstrate that new spending is producing results.

Advocacy means working with our commissioners, our state delegation, and DPI rather than simply saying we need more money. I would take specific needs, specific numbers, and measurable outcomes to those conversations. If we are asking taxpayers for additional resources, we owe them a clear explanation of what the money will accomplish. 

Q: Brunswick County teacher attrition has been creeping up over the last school years, from 9% in 2022-2023 to 10.7% in fiscal year 2024-2025. What do you attribute this increase to and how would you address it?

A: Teacher attrition rarely boils down to a single issue. Pay matters, but so does workload, student behavior, administrative support, housing costs, “duties as assigned,” classroom resources, and whether teachers feel respected and heard. 

My first step would be to understand “why” teachers are leaving BCS. I want meaningful exit data and annual teacher climate surveys — then act on what they tell us. Compensation, affordable housing, strong principals, manageable workloads, discipline support, mentoring for new teachers, and giving educators a real voice in decisions all matter. 

Recruiting good teachers is expensive. Keeping the good teachers we already have is one of the smartest investments we can make. 

Q: What is your view of the current board’s leadership? What are they succeeding at and what needs to be improved?
A: Where I think the board can improve is in long-range planning, transparency, and community involvement. Too often, the public becomes involved after a major decision is already far down the road. With the kind of growth Brunswick is experiencing, we need to be thinking five, 10, and 20 years ahead. 

I’m running because I believe there is good work worth building on and areas where a different perspective, stronger public engagement, and more aggressive long-term planning can make Brunswick County Schools even better. 

At Port City Daily, we aim to keep locals informed on top-of-mind news facing the tri-county region. To support our work and help us reach more people in 2026, please, consider helping one of two ways: Subscribe here or make a one-time contribution here.

We appreciate your ongoing support.