Trustees and superintendents from the county’s two school systems and leaders from Sampson Community College presented budget priorities and urged predictable, sustained capital support from the county.

School leaders said most school facilities are old—many exceeding 50 years—and identified roofing and skylight repairs and other maintenance needs as critical. Clinton City Schools and Sampson County Schools described ongoing facility work, noted increasing operational costs as the college and districts expand, and asked the board to preserve a proposed half‑cent allocation for school capital (described during the manager’s presentation as a contribution to school capital and to the capital reserve).

Sampson Community College trustees and leadership said a half‑cent capital outlay would create a modest but reliable stream for facility needs and made clear they would like the relationship and expectations memorialized. Dr. Charlene (as referenced in the meeting) and community college representatives asked that a short paragraph be added to the commissioners’ budget ordinance to clarify recurring support and the ability to request capital-reserve funds for special projects (for example, a chiller replacement or other urgent facility repairs).

What they asked for:
- Continued accrualability of capital-outlay dollars (allowing unspent amounts to carry forward for larger projects).
- Reasonable operational flexibility for colleges and schools within the budget appropriation, with the understanding that construction projects would still be submitted for prior approval.
- A written, memorialized understanding (or paragraph in the budget ordinance) describing the county’s capital support approach so the incoming county manager and future boards have clarity.

Board and staff response: County staff suggested the quickest way to memorialize a commitment would be to include specific language in the budget ordinance; commissioners asked the colleges and schools to submit a short paragraph for insertion.

Ending: School and college leaders thanked the board for the proposed capital half‑cent and asked for the administrative step—language in the budget ordinance—to codify the understanding going forward.