The Cumberland County Board of Education’s Finance Committee voted Thursday to move forward with a state grant application to help fund construction of a new E.E. Smith High School.
The district is seeking $60 million of the state’s roughly $258 million allocated for the Needs-Based Public School Capital Fund Grant program, said Jay Toland, associate superintendent of Business Operations. Funds are supported by the North Carolina Education Lottery.
In June, the Cumberland County Board of Commissioners approved $300 million in funding for school maintenance and $160 million for new construction costs over the following seven years.
But there are no guarantees that the district will be approved for the grant money, according to Kevin Colman, associate superintendent of Auxiliary Services.
“For several consecutive years, we’ve applied for funds for E.E. Smith and been repeatedly denied. We’ve yet to see any money from this,” he said.
Committee member Susan Williams asked if there had been feedback as to why the application had not been approved in the past, to which Colman said none was provided.
The funds are used for the designated school and must be used for new construction or upgrades, Toland said.
The Cumberland County Board of Commissioners voted in October 2024 to build a new E.E. Smith High School. The decision of whether to replace or renovate the current 27-acre campus on Seabrook Road followed more than a year of discussions, which at one time included a proposal to move the school to Fort Bragg. The existing E.E. Smith building, built in 1953, is too small for the needs of a new school, according to CCS officials.
A site has yet to be determined.
Timeline of grant application and system-wide study
The school system is in the middle of a comprehensive system-wide facility study, the results of which are expected in December.
“It’s examining the buildings system wide and prioritizing our needs and really setting up our long-term strategies as we go forward,” Colman said on Thursday.
That study, when completed, will help determine the school system’s building needs in the long run.
“If we apply now as we have in past years, we’re effectively prioritizing E.E. Smith before the facility study is complete. Once it’s completed, it will tell us the system-wide needs,” Colman said. “If we don’t apply, we run the risk of leaving that money on the table and not having that money come in.
“So, do we continue to apply for E.E. Smith as we have in years past or do we wait on the comprehensive study before committing to anything?”
Colman’s question drew comments from committee members who expressed concerns that the public may worry E.E. Smith is being favored over other schools needing repairs.
Committee Chair Greg West weighed in.
“This might be getting the cart before the horse … but I think the right order of events would be let’s look at our needs and the opportunity will be there to apply next year as well,” he said.
Other committee members supported the decision to apply this year.
“We’re not favoring … the thing is when you have money on the table, you always try to go and get that money,” school board member Terra Jordan said. “… They might not give us this money, so this could be null and void because last year they did not give it to us, so you at least apply for a grant.”
West cast the only vote against the recommendation to seek the grant again.
The deadline for the grant application is Friday. The recommendation to apply for a Needs-Based Public School Capital Fund Grant for the new building’s construction will be officially ratified at the next full board meeting on Oct. 14.
