As New Hanover school district leaders discuss renovations, expansions and possibly new school buildings, they’re grappling with which needs to prioritize and how to pay for them.
At a meeting between the New Hanover County Board of Education, district staff, New Hanover County staff, architects and others, Assistant Superintendent of Operations Eddie Anderson gave a list of projects for the board to consider.
The full list of projects would cost over half a billion dollars, so the board would have to choose which ones make the most sense to serve the needs of the district. Anderson and Interim Superintendent Christopher Barnes both said that expanding current schools rather than jumping to build new schools might be a better option to avoid redistricting.
Here’s a run-through of the projects being considered.
New school buildings
Several schools could get new buildings and there could be one new school to serve the southern end of the county. RiverLights Elementary School would be a new 650-student school that would be built within the RiverLights development. According to Anderson, this project is needed to increase elementary school capacity and reduce overcrowding in that area.