District says new school remains on track for Aug. 19, 2026; gas-line strike and grant timing delayed some field work

Pamlico County Schools staff told the Board of Education that the new school construction remains on track for an Aug. 19, 2026 occupancy date, but site setbacks and funding conditions have delayed some athletic work.

Mr. Rice, who presented the construction update, said district construction documents were submitted March 1, county approval followed in June, bids were taken in August and the district received a notice to proceed Oct. 18. He said crews mobilized Nov. 7 and the district expects to occupy the building on 2026-08-19: "we're still right now on schedule to finish and be in the building on 08/19/2026," he told the board.

Rice also reported a temporary site incident when an unmarked underground gas line was struck during work. "A gas line was hit," he said. "The gas line was not marked on a map and, so it got hit." He said crews shut the line off, addressed related issues (including a separate water-line leak on the baseball field), and work resumed.

Board members and staff described the baseball-field schedule as affected by the timing of a supplemental grant. Dr. Johnson said the district had an earlier grant and applied for a supplemental award that could not be used if construction had already begun; that timing constrained when work could proceed. The board recorded the original grant figure as $50,000,000 and discussed a supplemental award referenced in meeting remarks as $12,000,000; staff presented plans to begin grading the field soon and to hold the first practice Feb. 14. Rice cautioned that stadium lighting remained on back order and likely would not be installed until later in the spring: "lighting is not gonna happen until later, and that's because we couldn't order lighting until recently, and it's on back order."

The update included photos of site staging and trailers, removal of bleachers at the former baseball area, and routine adjustments the district said were part of construction logistics. Board members and staff framed some delays as short-term inconveniences necessary to preserve larger grant funding and long-term goals.

The board did not take a separate vote on the overall construction schedule at the meeting; the presentation was informational and work continues under the project procurement and contract approvals previously authorized by the district.

Next steps noted by staff include starting baseball-field grading as soon as site crews can schedule it, tracking delivery dates for lighting equipment, and continuing routine project coordination with county permitting and contractors.