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Seven school districts will share more than $360 million in new state lottery-funded grant awards for school construction, renovation projects and other capital improvements. Among the projects funded by the grants are plans to consolidate schools into one campus, increasing access to career and technical education and modernizing facilities for students, faculty and the surrounding community.
The grants, awarded under the Needs-Based Public School Capital Fund (NBPSCF), represent the largest annual allocation under the program, created by the General Assembly in 2017 from state lottery revenues. The grants are in addition to the state’s lottery-supported Public School Building Capital Fund and the Public School Building Repair and Renovation Fund, from which all 115 districts receive an allocation each year.
State Superintendent of Public Instruction Catherine Truitt said the needs-based grants continue to help districts across North Carolina ensure that students have access to high quality learning environments that are clean, modern and inviting to better serve student learning.
“Hurricane Helene has reiterated the necessity of our students having access to safe, modern and structurally sound learning environments,” said Truitt. “Each year, this funding does so much to support districts in modernizing infrastructure to improve safety and to enhance access for students to specialized learning facilities where they gain hands-on experience in new facilities like STEM labs, media centers and in career and technical education fields. I’m so thrilled to see these grants get into the hands of some incredibly deserving districts as we seek to help every student in the state reach their full potential.”
Awards Include:
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Edgecombe County Public Schools—$62 million
- Will consolidate three schools in northern Edgecombe County, will renovate North Edgecombe High School, builds a new career and technical education facility, creates a new PK-8 facility and refurbishes grounds and athletic fields.
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Graham County Schools—$42 million
- Will construct a new elementary school designed to be a multi-level building that will centralize essential spaces like cafeteria, gymnasium, auditorium and more while aligning academic planning and other student services.
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Hyde County Schools—$36,574,482
- Will construct a new high school to replace older facilities and consolidate the elementary, middle and high school into one facility while reconfiguring the school’s campus and athletic amenities.
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Jackson County Public Schools—$52 million
- Will construct a middle school that will consolidate five middle school programs into one location to better support student access to advanced coursework, career and technical education programs, visual arts, and to support teachers’ planning, training, and more.
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Martin County Schools—$62 million
- Will construct a new high school to replace the existing 50-year-old Riverside High School, increasing student access to career and technical education classes, improving classroom and cafeteria size and addressing accessibility issues.
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Sampson County Schools—$62 million
- Will construct a new high school that will be a career and technical magnet school that will include a state-of-the-art, two-story facility, an auditorium and a football/soccer field while improving parking, bus and carpool drop-off loops.
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Swain County Schools—$52 million
- Will construct a new middle school that will integrate buildings to reduce transition time, enhance classroom size and cafeteria capacity while creating new athletic fields to support student involvement.
Mark Michalko, executive director of the N.C. Education Lottery, said a substantial portion of the money raised by the lottery will support schools and communities as they renovate, repair and construct buildings.
“More than half of the $1 billion raised by the lottery last year went to build new schools and renovate and repair older ones,” said Mark Michalko, Chief Executive Officer of the N.C. Education Lottery. “You can see ground-breaking and ribbon-cuttings events for new schools occurring all across our state. It’s a wonderful use of lottery funds and these new schools and classrooms will help move our students forward.”
In total, the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction (NCDPI) received 122 applications totaling $1.78 billion in requested funding. The NBPSCF grant program is funded annually through budget appropriations of NC Education Lottery revenue. The next grant cycle for FY 25-26 is anticipated to be open in the fall of 2025, following completion of the next biennial budget.
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