Anson County board approves consent package, grants DOT right-of-way for Highway 74 improvements

The Anson County Schools Board of Education approved its consent agenda, including a grant of right-of-way to the state Department of Transportation to extend from Highway 74 to the entrance at Anson Middle School.

Board members voted by voice on a motion to approve the consent items; the chair called for aye/oppose and declared the motion carried. The consent package listed seven items: a personnel report (A01), an amendment to contracts audited in February 2024 (A02), engagement of a new audit firm for the 2025–26 fiscal year (A03), the 2025–26 student fee schedule (A04), a right-of-way grant to DOT to extend from Highway 74 to the Anson Middle School entrance (A05), school nutrition bids for the coming year (A06), and an improvement plan for social-emotional learning and school mental-health administration (A07).

The right-of-way grant will allow DOT to proceed with planned roadway improvements adjacent to the district’s campus, the board was told. Lee Ainsworth, introduced by the chair as ‘‘a true friend of Anson County Schools,’’ described a concept his team prepared to widen the school-side roadway, add turn-storage lanes and extend a sidewalk to a new driveway. Ainsworth said the design includes roughly 250-foot storage lanes for dedicated left- and right-turn movements near the school driveway and that the sidewalk would be extended to that driveway. ‘‘We’re going all the way,’’ Ainsworth said when asked whether the work would extend beyond Bearkat Drive.

Ainsworth and the chair said the project is awaiting two approvals: board approval of the right-of-way (granted at this meeting) and final approval from the Federal Highway Administration. Ainsworth said his team has drawn the concept to provide engineers’ estimates and to highlight potential additional right-of-way needs.

During the superintendent’s report, Dr. Ratley provided an update on the district’s middle-school construction project, saying site supervisors reported good progress and that weather patterns have allowed consecutive clear workdays. Ratley said construction is tracking toward finishing major work in the Jan.–Feb. time frame, with a series of required inspections by the architect and state agencies to follow; those inspections and state sign-offs typically delay final payment and turnover. He said summer will be used to move technology and complete interior readiness, and the district is working toward feasible occupancy in August of next year.

Board members did not debate each consent item individually at length; a board member asked to pause briefly on the engagement of a new audit firm for fiscal year 2025–26 but the board moved forward and approved the full consent package by voice vote.

The board’s action gives DOT the local right-of-way authorization needed to advance the Highway 74-side improvements; the project still depends on FHWA final approval and any additional right-of-way acquisitions noted in engineering work.

Agenda items approved under consent will be documented in the board’s official minutes; the board’s next regular meeting is scheduled for Aug. 25.