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Residents urge converting Pine Hall campus to community uses as board pauses disposition
Summary
Residents proposed multiple reuse plans for the Pine Hall Elementary site — a community center, YMCA satellite, veterans training/housing, and a memorial park — while the Stokes County Board of Education said disposition is not on tonight’s agenda and will review comments and legal options over the next two weeks.
A series of community members urged the Stokes County Board of Education to pursue local, community‑oriented uses for the Pine Hall Elementary campus as the board declined to act on disposition at tonight’s meeting.
Dr. Rice read a statement from board Chair Justin Duncan noting the chair could not attend and that he asked that the meeting recording be preserved so he could personally listen to comments. Duncan’s statement said, "The future of Pineh Hall Elementary and the voices of this community matter deeply to me," and asked the board and community to continue respectful engagement on the issue.
Public speakers proposed specific reuses. Taylor Faulk suggested selling the campus back to the county and creating a multi‑purpose community center that could host county training and CTE opportunities. Jason Duncan asked the board to push county commissioners to relocate emergency services into the older portion, to work with the YMCA on a leased recreation facility, and to convert remaining land into a Mike Joyce Memorial Park.
Carl Borgon, who identified himself as founder of the Pinehall Disabled Veterans Light Manufacturing and Housing Reintegration Pilot Program, described a plan to convert classroom space into a veterans training center and to place tiny homes and four ADA units nearby. Borgon provided a renovation estimate of roughly $1.9 million (up to about $2.4 million with fuller work) and described partnerships with training providers and industry donors to supply equipment and certifications.
Aaron Flinchum echoed calls for fitness, family programming and improved local access to special‑needs services (noting families currently travel outside the county for ABA therapy). Multiple speakers asked that a Mike Joyce memorial be preserved on the site.
Board members said the comments were helpful but that the board could not immediately dispose of the property. Dr. Rice reiterated the process: the board first determines whether it needs the facility; if not, state statute requires the district to return the property to county commissioners, who have broader disposal authority. "It is not on the agenda tonight to discuss the disposition of Pine Hall," Dr. Rice said; the board will review the attorney’s guidance, consider public input, and revisit the item in two weeks. Board members also said they would convey community preferences to the county commissioners for their consideration.
Next steps: the board will review the legal options with counsel, collect additional public input by email if residents cannot attend, and place any formal disposition or referral back to the commissioners on a future agenda for action.
