November 2025

The traffic situation in front of STARS Charter School has been a significant safety concern for the STARS Board of Directors, administration, faculty, staff, and families since the opening of the school. 

Our collective concern has increased since the NC Department of Transportation conducted a traffic study from September 15–19, 2025. Following that study, the Moore County Sheriff’s Office discontinued its support for morning drop-off traffic control.

Within the past week, a STARS parent was seriously injured in a traffic accident while turning into the school entrance. This incident underscores the ongoing safety risks faced by our families each day.

The STARS administration and Board of Directors have reached out to both the Moore County Sheriff’s Office and the Moore County Board of Commissioners to request that deputies resume assisting with morning drop-off traffic. As of the date of this statement, neither the Sheriff’s Office nor the Board of Commissioners have responded to our requests.

STARS urges county officials to engage with STARS administration and Board of Directors to identify actions that will improve the safety and wellbeing of both STARS families and Moore county residents.

Addressing Misinformation

A few concerned STARS parents and families have approached the school administration regarding the traffic situation with information that is inaccurate. To ensure transparency, the following timeline details STARS’ communications and actions with county officials. 

Timeline of Communication and Events Between STARS and Moore County Officials:

Late May 2025 – Initial Contact

In late May, Laura Williams, Assistant County Manager for Moore County, reached out to Dr. Wes Graner to ask if he would speak with County Manager Wayne Vest about traffic concerns at STARS. At that time, Ms. Williams’ engagement was informal and
conversational — a brainstorming-style discussion about possible ideas. The tone was casual, not urgent, and the message was essentially: “What can STARS do to help?” STARS was asked to consider changing its start time. Dr. Graner declined, explaining that STARS had already made one change previously.

July 2025 – New Commissioner Concern

In late July, Ms. Williams sent an email raising continued concerns about morning traffic at STARS and noted that the closure of Camp Easter Road at Crystal Lake created new
urgency. This led to a meeting on August 6, 2025, between:

• • Commissioner Jim Von Canon

• • County Manager Wayne Vest

• • Assistant County Manager Laura Williams

• • Dr. Wes Graner, STARS Executive Director

• • Aaron Honey, Chairman, STARS Board of Directors

 

August 6, 2025 – Meeting Between STARS and County Officials

The August 6 meeting focused primarily on Commissioner Von Canon’s request that STARS move its start time 15 minutes earlier (from 7:45 a.m. to 7:30 a.m.). Commissioner Von Canon said this request was motivated by concerns for Sheriff’s deputy safety.
Both Dr. Graner and Mr. Honey were surprised by this claim and asked why the Sheriff’s Office had not contacted STARS directly if deputy safety was a concern. Commissioner Von Canon clarified that the Sheriff’s Office had not reached out to him with safety concerns — rather, this was his personal assessment that deputies positioned on Highway 1 during morning drop-off could be at risk.

Mr. Honey asked what evidence supported the assessment that moving the start time by 15 minutes would improve safety. Commissioner Von Canon said traffic appeared lighter at that time but acknowledged no formal data had been gathered. Mr. Honey also asked about other possible safety improvements, such as:

• • Increased speeding enforcement

• • Establishment of a designated school zone

• • Installation of a traffic light

Commissioner Von Canon responded that he did not believe increased enforcement would make a difference but expressed willingness to explore a school zone and broader traffic flow improvements in partnership with STARS.

Mr. Honey agreed to discuss the start-time proposal with the full Board of Directors but explained that any change would be difficult to implement with only 12 days before the new school year began.

At no point during this meeting did Commissioner Von Canon state that deputies would remain assigned to the intersection if STARS changed its start time.

September 2025 – NCDOT Traffic Study and Deputy Withdrawal

On August 12, 2025—six days after the meeting—the County contacted NCDOT to discuss
traffic issues on the Highway 1 corridor in front of STARS. Shortly afterward, Sheriff’s deputies were pulled from their morning traffic assistance to determine if their presence was necessary as part of this study.

On the final day of the study, before a formal report of findings was published, STARS was informed that the Sheriff’s Office would no longer provide morning traffic support. Since the Moore County Sheriff’s Office stopped assisting with morning traffic, neither the STARS administration nor the STARS Board of Directors has had any communication with the Commissioners’ Office or the Sheriff’s Office regarding ways to improve the current traffic situation. 

Some parents have reported to STARS administration that county officials mentioned there is a plan to address traffic in front of STARS; however, no one from the
Board of Directors or the school has been contacted by any county officials about such a plan.

October–November 2025

Since deputies were removed, one serious accident and one near-miss have occurred on
consecutive days involving STARS families turning into the school entrance. Unfortunately, STARS cannot unilaterally influence the Sheriff’s Office decision to withdraw deputy support. Despite multiple formal requests for reinstatement, county officials have indicated they will not resume morning traffic control.

Exploring Other Safety Solutions

STARS has proactively explored other options to address traffic safety concerns:

• • Additional SRO: STARS evaluated hiring an additional School Resource Officer (SRO)
    to assist during morning drop-off. However, this option is not feasible because
    STARS officers do not have jurisdiction to enforce traffic laws on Highway 1.

• • Traffic Light: STARS requested that NCDOT evaluate the possibility of adding a traffic
    light that operates during morning drop-off and afternoon pick-up. NCDOT has
    declined this option for Highway 1.

STARS remains open to additional solutions and invites parents and community members to share constructive ideas for improving safety.

Invitation to Parents

The next STARS Board Meeting will be held on November 20, 2025, at 5:00 p.m. in the Renaissance Room. As always, time will be reserved for public comments, and we welcome parents’ attendance and input