The McDowell County Board of Education unanimously approved two capital projects funded through Hurricane Helene recovery funds and authorized staff to begin drawing the state-held dollars. Administrators said the funds—discussed at $4,000,000 for restoration at Pleasant Gardens Elementary and $4,000,000 for erosion control affecting West McDowell Middle School and McDowell High School—were sent to the county and placed in an older account. The district must formally approve the projects so it can request the money from the state.

Finance staff explained the state retains the funds until the district requests them; once requested and drawn down, the funds will be interest-bearing for McDowell County. Superintendent Dr. Gritt and project staff said work at Pleasant Gardens is already well under way, and the district expects to begin drawing funds to reimburse expenses and continue construction and remediation.

Chairman of finance Mister Frank moved to approve the two projects; the motion was seconded and the board voted unanimously to accept the projects so the district can begin drawing the recovery funds. Administrators cautioned that if the funds had been received as a direct grant, the proper vehicle would have been a budget amendment, but the method of receipt meant the district is processing the projects through the county’s existing account structure.

Staff described project details during the meeting: Pleasant Gardens had paving, striping, pressure washing, interior cleaning and painting, and installation of luxury vinyl tile in damaged areas; drainage remediation and other exterior repairs were in progress. At West McDowell and McDowell High, officials described erosion-control work connected to a lower-field entrance and runoff toward the high-school tennis area. The presentation included photos of completed and in-progress work and technical observations about HVAC and site issues that staff said they continue to address.

Board members asked procedural questions about interest-bearing status, account location and next steps for requesting state reimbursement; finance staff replied that they expect to request the funds and that they will be interest-bearing for the county after drawdown.