The following statement has been released on behalf of the Wayne County Board of Education:

The Wayne County Board of Education looks forward to continuing to work constructively with the Board of County Commissioners to build a wonderful new Fremont Elementary School with the support of a $15 million grant secured from the State of North Carolina that will finance most of the new construction, and remaining funds from the County.  To that end, the Board of Education has moved forward with the selection of a construction manager at risk to supervise the project and is prepared to move forward with the county commissioners to transfer the deed and arrange for a deed/lease arrangement to fund the school as economically as possible and recoup sales tax for building construction and supplies, and to allow for some debt financing.

As the commissioners agreed in the needs-based funding application, they are prepared to fund up to $8 million with a combination of pay-as-you-go and debt financing.  The Board of Education met with its attorney in closed session on Tuesday, August 17, to review proposed revisions to an agreement the commissioners had approved in June.  The County Manager and at least one Commissioner were advised on Tuesday, August 17, that the school board’s attorney would be communicating the revised proposal to the County’s attorney. That was done on August 19.

The Board of Education is hopeful that a revised agreement can now be quickly approved so the project can move forward and benefit the students and citizens of Wayne County.  We look forward to breaking ground on this exciting project with the Commissioners by our side, as we work closely together to build another new school to meet our growing needs.