Wayne County Public Schools and the County of Wayne will receive an additional $9 million in Needs-Based Public School Grant Funds for the construction of a new Fremont Elementary. This is in addition to the $15 million previously awarded in 2020.

Last fall, the North Carolina General Assembly made legislative changes for the Needs-Based Public School Capital Fund Grant program which took effect in January 2022.

In addition to being able to reapply for additional funds, two significant financial benefits of the legislative grant program changes for Wayne County include:

The new required county match for Wayne is 5% (down from the 25% previously required), reducing
the minimum county match from $5 million to $1.2 million.

Wayne County is no longer required to forfeit lottery funds for a period of five years. This will save the
county approximately $6 million over the next five years.