Person County Board hears multi-option plan to address roughly 1,300-seat shortfall tied to new housing

The Person County Board of Education on Tuesday heard detailed plans from consultants for how the district might add roughly 1,300 student seats as growth from recently approved housing arrives.

Superintendent Dr. Peterson told the board that about 1,500 housing units have been approved and, based on past enrollment patterns of roughly 0.8 students per new home, the district faces an urgent need to add seats in elementary and middle grades. "We're needing to find 1,300 seats," he said, framing the presentation the board requested as part of a broader Facilities 2030 planning effort.

Consultant Nicole Red of Performance Services introduced a team that included education planner Dr. Rodney Shotwell, national sales manager Bob Wedi and architect Kevin Yudsy. Red summarized the three options the team tested: consolidate middle grades at Southern and convert Northern to an elementary; consolidate at Northern and convert Southern; or build a new middle school and convert both existing middle schools to elementary campuses. "We have been helping you guys with the facility need survey in an effort to exhaust all funding options," Red told the board.

Dr. Shotwell described the programmatic work the team completed: room-by-room assessments, test fits of combined programs and attention to curriculum needs such as band, chorus and career-technical offerings. He said the consolidated approach can expand program offerings by bringing staff and resources together, while noting architectural limits at Northern where some classrooms are internalized with no daylight. "This was a labor of love," Dr. Shotwell said of the planning effort.

Architects explained campus-level options. At Southern the design would add a two-story classroom wing on the site, expand dining and kitchen space and add an auxiliary gym while reconfiguring bus and car circulation to improve safety. Northern’s option emphasizes a larger addition on adjacent green space and a new entrance off College Drive to separate buses and cars and add parking; consultants cautioned that Northern’s internalized classrooms make elementary conversion less ideal.

Performance Services gave ballpark timelines and costs. Consolidation scenarios could be completed faster — some additions might be ready for the 2028–29 school year with broader completion by August 2029 — while a new-build middle school was pegged at roughly 152,000 square feet (the team’s baseline) with an estimated price near $76 million; a larger, more fully featured 218,000-square-foot option was estimated near $110 million. For a consolidation-plus-conversion path the team gave a combined estimate in the $60–72 million range. "Those are order-of-magnitude numbers; the next step is room-by-room budgeting," a Performance Services representative said.

Funding remains uncertain. Dr. Peterson said the district has repeatedly applied for the state needs-based grant with limited success and warned that the state is unlikely to fund a full new-build without a separate line item or special appropriation. He said the district would likely be more competitive for renovation money than for funds to build entirely new facilities. The presenters and superintendent also noted that renovation (RNR) money cannot be used for mobile units, and that mobile units remain an expensive fallback if bond or state funds are not available.

Board members asked about transportation, redistricting and phasing. Consultants said traffic circulation improvements, staging additions and conversion sequencing could reduce the time needed to add capacity; they also flagged the need for a follow-up transportation study and more detailed cost modeling if the board directs staff to proceed. Dr. Peterson said the board will be asked for direction at the April 16 meeting and outlined upcoming public engagement sessions in mid-to-late April.

The team recommended next steps: pick a directional option, commission detailed room-by-room budgets and transportation modeling, and coordinate a funding strategy with county commissioners if a bond or local dollars are required. The presentation materials and the consultants’ recommended options will be used to support any needs-based grant resubmission and to brief stakeholders ahead of a possible referendum.

The board did not take a formal vote on construction tonight; members are scheduled to consider next steps and potentially direct staff on April 16.