One month after Pender County school bond referendum, progress is slow

PENDER COUNTY, NC (WWAY) — More than one month after Pender County voters approved a nearly $178 million school bond, progress is slow.

Money from the bond will be used for a number of projects, including the construction of a new K-5 elementary and 6-8 middle school to help reduce overcrowding in Topsail area schools.

Renovations are also planned at Topsail Middle School, Rocky Point Elementary School and Burgaw Middle School.

However, a Pender County Schools spokesman says the county has not sold any bonds yet because the county has not yet secured a piece of land for the schools that were proposed in the school bond.

The Pender County Schools website notes while there was no definitive build site settled upon, officials were looking to build a new K-5 elementary and 6-8 middle school somewhere near the Highway 210 corridor because of population figures.

Planned construction on the first project was set to begin in June 2023, with the first school estimated to open in June 2025. However, the lack of land may cause a possible delay in construction.

County Manager David Andrews says the school bond election results need to be certified, and commissioners need to meet with the Board of Education to work out the specifics of land acquisitions.

“I think part of the meeting with the Board of Education, we’ll try to zero in on some of the sites that would be acceptable to them; in the process we may need to go out and acquire more land,” Andrews said. “We all support the school system, and we know that the schools are much needed.”

County Commissioners are scheduled to certify the school bond election results on January 3, and plan to hold a joint meeting with the Board of Education in mid-January.