Robeson County school staff outline funding mix and county financing plan for CTE center

Public Schools of Robeson County staff told the construction committee that state and grant revenues cover most of the Career and Technical Education Center budget, and that the district has asked the county to provide $15 million in financing to complete the project.

Erica, a district grants and finance staff member, presented a funding summary to the committee and said, “We received a needs based lottery, from the state, $62,000,000.” She also reported a $2.5 million match from Robeson County and a $2.5 million match from PSRC on hand, and a $5,000,000 grant from the General Assembly that the district holds locally.

Why it matters: Committee members were told the remaining financing gap has prompted the district to request county financing. County involvement changes the legal and collateral arrangements for the property and may require additional bond counsel work or approvals.

County financing plan and deed-and-lease County staff and the district said the county plans to finance the CTE center and planetarium and, because the county’s original plan to use a health-department project as collateral fell through, the county intends to take a temporary deed to the property and enter a lease-back arrangement with the school system so the county can use the property as collateral for the bonds.

County counsel and bond attorneys are still working the details. A county staff member told the committee the goal is to have deed-and-lease paperwork ready for the November board meeting, but that the county’s bond attorneys must finalize the guaranteed maximum price for a concurrent health-department building before the county can switch collateral arrangements.

Legal and approval questions A committee member asked whether the Local Government Commission (LGC) approval would be required; district and county staff said they would work with county attorneys to determine any LGC requirement and that, if required, the county would handle that process. Sarah, a district staff member with prior experience on similar financings, reminded the committee that the county previously took temporary ownership of Lumberton Junior High while bond financing was in place and that the deed-and-lease approach is not unprecedented.

Funding totals and next steps Erica’s packet showed total project costs of roughly $87,780,170.08 across contracts and indicated the district has $72,000,005.99 in identified funding sources after matches and the state allocation, leaving the board’s $15 million financing request to the county to close the gap. Erica said some matching details on a specific $12 million state allocation still must be resolved with the county; she described one portion of that state allocation as carrying a 5% match that requires allocation of match responsibilities.

Committee members asked staff to continue coordinating with county attorneys and bond counsel and to return with finalized deed-and-lease language and any required approvals. No formal action or vote was taken at the meeting.