Pamlico County board sets Oct. 17 special meeting to review GMP as school construction prepares to start

Pamlico County Board of Education leaders told the board they are poised to move forward on a long‑planned consolidation and new school project, scheduling a special meeting for Oct. 17 to review and potentially approve a guaranteed maximum price (GMP) that would allow construction to begin.

Superintendent Dr. Johnson said districtwide enrollment on Oct. 1 totaled 1,140 students — 329 at Pamlico County Primary School, 137 at Fred Anderson Elementary, 244 at Pamlico County Middle School and 430 at Pamlico County High School — and reminded the board that a previously discussed $32,000,000 needs‑based consolidation grant was not approved by county commissioners this year. He noted the district already holds a separate $62,000,000 needs‑based grant from the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction and celebrated a recent groundbreaking for the new facility.

“We’ll be looking at [the $32 million application] again next year because that is part of our 50‑year plan,” Dr. Johnson said, explaining that the commissioners chose not to proceed with submitting the application this cycle.

Facilities lead Mr. Rice gave a construction update: design and construction documents were submitted to DPI and the county for review, bidding opened Aug. 7 across roughly 42–43 bid packages, and several packages initially came in over budget. “On several of the packages that were over what they projected, they went to negotiations … or they rejected the bid altogether and went to other negotiations,” Mr. Rice said, describing how some packages were rebid or negotiated and noting the site/demo package came in under budget after being split.

Rice said the project’s notice to proceed was shifted from Oct. 8 to Oct. 18 and that, if the GMP is approved at the Oct. 17 special meeting, work could begin quickly. “I asked how soon things will start happening after that,” he said. “He said pretty quickly. Could even see some things possibly the next day.”

Rice also updated the board on the new baseball field site work, saying crews have begun tree clearing and controlled burning for initial site preparation and that grading and fill will follow. Staff told the board they had obtained three quotes for the grading/fill contract and that the RB Group’s quote was substantially lower; staff had the board add the RB Group contract (item 7a) to the agenda but ultimately agreed to return that contract for consideration at the Oct. 17 special meeting to allow board members additional time to review the paperwork.

On the consent agenda, the board pulled a Duke Energy contract for new lighting at the school site after members noted a missing map attachment and differing start‑date language; the board approved the consent agenda items a–c and voted to approve the Duke Energy contract pending the board attorney’s confirmation of the effective date before the district would sign.

The board also heard that the district’s fiscal audit is complete and that auditors are scheduled to present at the November meeting.

Next steps: the board will meet in a special session at 1:00 p.m. Oct. 17 to review the GMP and further consider construction contracts for the new school and associated site work.