A Cumberland County Board of Education committee on Tuesday approved applications seeking nearly $958,000 through a state lottery-funded repair and renovation program to reimburse maintenance projects at six schools.
The requests—approved unanimously by board members Delores Bell, Greg West, Jackie Warner, and Deanna Jones during the board’s Budget/Finance Committee meeting—total $957,531. The full board will consider the applications during its August 11 meeting. If approved, they will be submitted to the N.C. Department of Public Instruction after receiving signatures from Cumberland County commissioners.
District officials said the projects are already substantially complete, allowing the school system to recover the project costs through the state’s Public School Building Repair and Renovation Fund, which is supported by North Carolina Education Lottery proceeds.
“The way they set it up, we’ve already substantially completed most of these projects, and then we just pay ourselves back,” Jay Toland, associate superintendent of business operations, said during the committee meeting on Tuesday.
The discussion comes just weeks after the Cumberland County Board of Commissioners approved up to $510 million for new schools, maintenance, and capital improvements while reaffirming an overall commitment of $610 million for school construction.
The funding would reimburse:
- Interior painting at Cumberland Mills Elementary: $118,000
- HVAC replacement at Ferguson-Easley Elementary: $358,000
- Interior painting at Douglas Byrd Middle: $95,000
- Interior painting at Jack Britt High: $172,231
- Interior and exterior painting at Pauline Jones High: $120,300
- Humidity control improvements at Terry Sanford High: $94,000
Why the District Can’t Spend Lottery Funds on Teachers
Tuesday’s discussion expanded beyond the six reimbursement requests as board members sought to better understand how North Carolina Education Lottery proceeds flow to local school districts and how those dollars fit into Cumberland County’s long-term school construction plans.
Board members then turned their attention to the district’s annual lottery allocation, which Toland said is separate from the repair and renovation funding approved Tuesday.
Each year, North Carolina distributes roughly $100 million in lottery capital funds to school districts based on average daily membership (ADM)—the student enrollment figure the state uses to determine education funding.
Based on Cumberland County Schools’ average daily membership, Toland said the district receives about $3 million annually.
Under North Carolina law, those lottery dollars are restricted to capital purposes, including school construction, renovations, repairs, land acquisition, and debt service on school construction projects. They cannot be used for operating expenses such as teacher salaries.
“We can’t take that $3 million and buy teachers with it, even if that’s what the board wants to do,” Toland said. “The general statute won’t allow it.”
Cumberland County applies its annual lottery allocation toward debt service on school construction projects.
Toland estimated the county has about $7 million in outstanding school construction debt, noting that the balance reflects the fact that Cumberland County has not built a new school in more than 20 years.
Superintendent Eric Bracy asked what would happen to the district’s annual lottery allocation once that debt is paid off.
“So if we didn’t have that debt, we would get $3 million a year?” Bracy asked.
“Yes,” Toland replied. “That you could use on capital projects.”
“So we are getting the money,” Bracy said. “It’s just going to the county to reduce debt service.”
