The Cumberland County Board of Education voted 5-3 on Tuesday to transfer the former Lillian Black Elementary School property to Cumberland County for $1.
The Spring Lake school has sat vacant since the board voted unanimously to close it in June 2022 as part of district consolidation efforts. Students were reassigned to nearby W.T. Brown Elementary School, located less than a mile away.
The district previously offered to sell the property to the county at its appraised fair market value of approximately $750,000, but county commissioners formally declined the offer in an October 10, 2024 letter. Glenn Adams—then chair of the board of commissioners—called the asking price “exorbitant and not in taxpayers’ best interest.”
Under the resolution approved Tuesday, district officials are now authorized to formally offer the property to the county for $1 and move forward with transferring ownership of the site.
Board member Terra Jordan reiterated concerns she raised during earlier committee discussions.
“As I stated before, I think we should be looking at this in a different light,” Jordan said.
The motion passed with board members Jacquelyn Brown, Greg West, Susan Williams, Delores Bell, and Jackie Warner voting in favor. Jordan, Mary Hales, and Deanna Jones voted against the measure. Board Chair Judy Musgrave was not present for the vote.
If county commissioners decline the offer, the resolution allows the school district to pursue other methods of selling the property under North Carolina law.
