School board approves $62 million DPI grant application to expand Brevard High, consolidate Davidson River School

The Transylvania County Schools Board of Education voted to approve submission of a $62,000,000 capital needs grant application to the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction (DPI) that would fund a roughly 70,000-square-foot addition to Brevard High School and consolidate Davidson River School onto the Brevard campus.

The board approved the motion to submit the grant application and allow minor wording changes to the application, with no member verbally opposed when the motion was called.

Superintendent Dr. Robin Fletcher, who led the presentation, said the grant — funded through state lottery funds distributed by DPI — would allow the district to replace aging CTE (career and technical education) facilities and provide industry credentialing for students who currently attend the off-site Davidson River program. “Davidson River will stay the same. They’re going to have the same principal, the same staff, same small class sizes,” Fletcher said. “The only thing changing is actually the location of Davidson River School.”

Nut graf: The application requests DPI funds to modernize and expand CTE capacity at Brevard High, address longstanding building deficiencies and consolidate an alternative school population to increase access to credentialing and advanced coursework. If DPI awards the grant, the county commissioners must provide a 15% local match, which Fletcher estimated at about $9 million, making the project total roughly $70 million.

Details from the presentation: Fletcher said the district is about 18,000 square feet below DPI standards for required instructional space and identified the following elements in the grant concept: demolition of the existing CTE wing, construction of a new approximately 70,000-square-foot building on the Brevard High campus, reconfigured access and parking, upgraded CTE shops (welding, HVAC, construction trades, health sciences, culinary arts, etc.), expanded performing-arts support and ADA-compliant special-education classrooms. The proposal would preserve Davidson River’s small-school environment while providing pathways for industry credentials and access to band, theater, honors and AP coursework.

Fletcher gave district enrollment figures she cited from an internal report: 3,885 total students districtwide and 866 high-school–age students between Davidson River and Brevard High. She said roughly 32% of Davidson River enrollment are special-education students and noted transportation limitations and costs for moving students between sites.

Board members asked operational and timeline questions; Fletcher said the district expects a multi-year timeline if funded, estimating two to three years from design to occupancy. She also said the grant application is due to DPI by Oct. 3 and asked the board to approve submission with minor wording edits if necessary before the deadline.

Ending: With the board’s approval, staff will finalize the DPI application and present the district’s proposal to the county board of commissioners for the required local-match authorization. No final construction or contracting commitments will be made until DPI awards the grant and the commissioners approve the match.