Beaufort County approves $52 million project ordinance for new Washington Elementary amid heated debate

Beaufort County commissioners voted to approve a project budget ordinance authorizing recognition of revenues and expenditures for a new Washington Elementary School that staff said is funded by a $42 million state needs-based public schools capital fund grant and a $10 million local match. The county and school officials said the project remains on schedule for an August 2026 opening.

The vote followed a presentation by county and Beaufort County Schools staff who described the grant award, the matching requirement and routine project-ordinance mechanics that allow the county to recognize grant revenues and flow payments through the county to the school system. A county official explained the budget reflects a permitted 5% contingency and that, because bids came in under the architect's earlier expectation, roughly $2.3 million is shown as a transfer back to the general fund pending final accounting.

The item prompted the meeting's most prolonged debate. Commissioner Ted Richardson criticized the process and the plan, saying the public and other elected officials were excluded from planning. "This presentation and the way this particular project was done, it has subverted the public interest in a tremendous way," Richardson said, questioning parking, future use of the replaced school site and whether required studies had been completed and submitted to the Department of Public Instruction (DPI). He also argued consolidation of two aging schools into one building raised education-quality concerns.

School officials responded that the grant application and the school board's process addressed many of those issues, that the schools were 50 to 60 years old and that the grant and lottery funds make a new building possible without a bond that planners estimated would have cost taxpayers about $81 million under current interest rates. "This school is paid for by North Carolina lottery funds with some of your matching funds, and it is scheduled and still on time to open August of 2026," the superintendent said.

Board members pressed for clarifications: staff explained the flow of funds, the county's role in approving invoices and the sequence of architectural review, school board approvals and county payments. Commissioners also asked whether DPI had all required studies; Richardson asserted they did not and argued the effort was politically motivated. School leaders disputed the "failing school" characterization and invited commissioners to review plans and attend progress monitoring meetings.

After discussion the board moved and approved the capital project budget ordinance by voice/hand vote. The county did not record a roll-call tally in the minutes presented at the meeting.

Next steps: staff and school district representatives said permitting and foundation work would begin after the holiday and that the board will see subsequent budget transfers and payment requests as construction milestones and invoices arise.