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McDowell board approves consolidation plan, votes to pursue state school-construction grant
Summary
The McDowell County Board of Education voted unanimously to pursue a North Carolina school-based capital grant and to consolidate Eastfield Global Magnet School and Marion Elementary School as part of a plan to become shovel-ready for a new school.
The McDowell County Board of Education on June 9 voted unanimously to consolidate Eastfield Global Magnet School and Marion Elementary School and to move forward with steps to apply for a North Carolina school-based capital grant to build a new school.
The board approved a motion to pursue the grant after hearing a multi-part presentation on consolidation and facilities planning. "The one thing that I can say that we do know is we need $42,000,000 in order to build this school," Suzanne Rampey told the board when summarizing the state rubric and funding levels.
Why it matters: The state grant program awards $42 million for an elementary school, $52 million for a middle school and $62 million for a high school; reviewers favor projects that are shovel-ready, located in a higher-tier county and consolidate facilities. Board members said securing an architect and property options now will position the district to score higher on the state's rubric when the application window opens.
Board and staff described the next steps: publish a request for qualifications (RFQ) for an architect, bring an RFQ back to the board in July, and continue due diligence on two parcels of land under consideration within roughly 1.5 miles of East McDowell Middle School. Dr. Greer said staff had met with faculty at the affected schools and emphasized that any staffing changes would occur through attrition. "No positions would be gone unless through attrition," a board member reiterated during discussion.
During the meeting, Rampey outlined additional consolidation measures the district is exploring, including moving central services and Summit Academy into a single location to generate operational savings (estimated roughly $50,000 per year in reduced utilities and rental costs) and to enable growth at Summit Academy. The board also discussed transportation and nutrition service efficiencies that would follow facility consolidation.
Action taken: A motion by Mr. Shuford, seconded by Mr. Frank, to proceed with consolidation and to pursue the North Carolina school-based capital grant carried unanimously.
What’s next: Staff will release an RFQ for an architect to support grant-shovel-ready planning and return to the board with vendor recommendations and further timeline details. The board and staff stressed that applying does not guarantee award and that the district would apply again in subsequent cycles if needed.
