New Hanover leaders back planning for $320.5 million school bond, outline projects and tax impact

County commissioners and the New Hanover County Board of Education on Thursday moved to advance staff planning for a proposed $320,500,000 general‑obligation school bond that would go before voters in a future referendum if both governing bodies approve and the Local Government Commission (LGC) accepts the application.

Eric Bridal, the county’s presentation lead, framed the proposal as a general‑obligation (G.O.) bond that carries the county’s full legal backing and can affect the property tax rate. Bridal said the county maintains a self‑imposed debt policy cap of $2,200 per person to avoid overextension and argued the proposed package could be staged so paydowns in existing debt free capacity over time. "If you take $2,200 per person and multiply by the 246,000 citizens we’ve got in the county, that would provide total available debt capacity of $541,000,000," Bridal said, adding the county had about $411,000,000 outstanding as of June 30, 2025.

Bridal and county staff presented a three‑issuance example (roughly $150 million in 2027, $100 million in 2029 and $70.5 million in 2032) and used a Local Government Commission formula interest assumption in calculations. As an illustrative tax impact, the team modeled an incremental increase of 1.75¢ per $100 of assessed value for 10 years; Bridal said that would equal “about $102 annually” on the county’s stated average home value of $581,001.75 under the example.

School officials…