Commissioners approve $1.176 million to let Haywood County Schools buy 13.07-acre parcel near Tuscola High

Haywood County commissioners voted Jan. 5 to approve a budget amendment of $1,176,000 to allow Haywood County Schools to buy two parcels totaling 13.07 acres off Hospital Drive in Clyde, adjacent to Tuscola High School.

Graham Haines, assistant superintendent for Haywood County Schools, told the board the school board had voted unanimously at its Dec. 8 meeting to approve the purchase and that the district does not yet have specific development plans for the property. "Simply put, I am here just asking for your approval for us to purchase that land," Haines said.

Haines said the purchase would be paid from the district’s capital fund balance, which is generated from local sales-tax revenues and can be used for capital expenses such as land acquisition, HVAC and building upgrades; the funds are not drawn from the school system’s day-to-day operating budget. "This is only money that we can use for capital expenses ... We cannot use it for local current expense or our day-to-day budgetary needs like salaries," he said.

Commissioners asked whether the parcel could help with long-term enrollment or facility planning. Haines said it could potentially be useful for future expansion but that building a new school would likely require a separate capital bond and detailed design work; he also described preliminary cost estimates he recalled for school construction and state grant thresholds that could offset construction (he referenced figures of approximately $42 million for an elementary, $52 million for a middle school and $62 million for a high school as illustrative state grant levels).

The motion to approve the budget amendment carried on a unanimous voice vote.

The board took no additional substantive action on how the land would be used; school staff said they will continue planning and pursue grants and bond options if and when a project is proposed.