NEW HANOVER COUNTY — The New Hanover County Board of Education heard several options for long-needed repairs to the 104-year-old New Hanover High School last week, yet how those capital projects would be funded may be more complicated than expected.
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The master plan, which Port City Daily first reported about two weeks ago, showed three options for updating the high school: a $280-million rebuild on 70 acres, a $137-million renovation, or a hybrid solution with renovations and new construction ranging from $195 to $230 million.
Any of the options would likely need the county to issue a bond, some of which require voter approval through a referendum. For example, the last $160 million school bond in 2014 supported 14 projects and was financed through voter-approved general obligation bonds, often issued for large projects that lack enough capital funding.
Bond financing relies on a municipality’s ability to issue debt, yet New Hanover County’s capacity in the new fiscal year is only $101 million. This wouldn’t even cover the least expensive NHHS option, much less any other major capital needs at other schools.
The NHCS finance committee has identified $581 million in potential bond projects outside of NHHS, including the Riverlights Elementary School ($43.3 million), replacements for Pine Valley and Williams elementaries ($166 million), Isaac Bear Early College new building ($46.5 million) and other renovations and additions across the district.
“There’s no way that the county can dish out that much money and just for New Hanover High School, not even considering all the other capital needs the district has,” New Hanover County Commissioner Stephanie Walker told PCD a few weeks ago. “And the other complication with the bond is there is what they call a ‘bond cap.’ We already have outstanding bonds out there that have not finished being paid off.”
Based on county population projections, it can issue up to $541 million based on the county policy to limit debt issuance at $2,200 per capita. The policy has been in place for more than 10 years and hasn’t accounted for inflation, nor the county’s $300 million Revenue Stabilization Fund, established with the sale of New Hanover County in 2021.
As of June 30, the county’s outstanding debt is around $440 million, with New Hanover County Schools making up a fourth of that amount with $116 million. Other major contributors are Cape Fear Community College ($63 million), Project Grace ($51 million), the new NHC Government Center ($35 million), New Hanover County fire stations and equipment ($26 million) and the Northchase Library ($12 million).
The county’s overall debt will be spent down each year, thus reducing the interest accrued on each bond issuance simultaneously. County spokesperson Alex Riley said the estimate is for the county to free up $40 million in debt capacity over the next two fiscal years — that is, if no new debt is issued.
Riley confirmed the county is consulting with financial advisors on “whether it is prudent to raise the debt limit.”
Commissioner LeAnn Pierce told Port City Daily the commissioners have not received a presentation on raising the limit yet and thus wasn’t in favor nor opposed to doing so.
Walker said she feared raising the limit could affect the county’s triple A bond rating.
Port City Daily reached out to each school board member about NHHS and other capital needs. Pat Bradford, Judy Justice and Tim Merrick replied to PCD it was their understanding any construction to take place at NHHS would need to happen in stages.
“It’s been no secret that there is not much more than $100 million available for a bond at this time, we’ve been working under that fact all along,” Bradford wrote in an email to PCD. “It is one of the reasons why the consensus was for us to see the plans in phases.”
NHHS’ hybrid solution comes in four phases that could take from a decade to 12 years to complete. Stages cost from $42 million to $75 million and one includes a third-story addition. It would meet the needs outlined for the master plan, including providing additional academic spaces, limiting students exiting the school building for class and securing the perimeter, improving bus pick-up and drop-off, and preserving the historic structure.
The phased approach, taking into consideration inflated costs over time, is estimated only $50 million less than a new build, but the district currently doesn’t own or has identified any 70–acre parcel of land for a new school.
Board members provided some feedback on the NHHS direction after its consultants from LS3P and BMH Architects presented on the master plan at the school board’s July 8 meeting.
David Perry said he thought phased renovation was preferable, but worried the school will never be in as good of condition as the three other, newer high schools, all of which are located on bigger plats of land. New Hanover High School takes up 15 acres, with little land available around it, as it’s located in the downtown area of Wilmington.
“This is an urban school, and it will never be more than an urban school, but that is an advantage in some way because it offers different opportunities,” Charles Boney, of LS3P, responded, referencing the school’s proximity to services and housing, allowing some students in the area to walk if they chose.
Merrick said his concern with the phased approach was leaving the district high-and-dry should the money dry up or new county leadership change their commitment level.
“If, God forbid, we weren’t able to carry on right away, would the school be fully functional as is, or would we have kids in trailers for, you know, years on end?” he asked.
The consultants said the school would be functional, but noted the board could expect students to be relocated to trailers while some of the work was being completed. If funding remained accessible, they said the work could be completed in 10 years.
Superintendent Chris Barnes said once the board approved of a plan, his team would work two to three years in advance of a phase to minimize disruption.
Despite which option is chosen for NHHS, any of the three would need multiple bonds. Riley said it could be approved on one ballot, rather than having to solicit enough support for each one over multiple election cycles. Multiple referendums would only be needed to separate distinct project categories, he said.
“If approved by voters, the county would issue the debt in phases over several years, staying within its capacity as older debt rolls off,” Riley wrote. “The LGC reviews and authorizes each issuance after the referendum. State law allows up to seven years to issue the full amount, with an option to extend to ten.”
If approved, the next ballot the referendum could appear on would be either the primary or midterm election in 2026. The school board and commissioners would need to approve the bond order within 12 months of the next election.
The school board members that spoke to PCD didn’t indicate a definitive effort to put a bond on either 2026 ballot, though the finance committee has laid out a plan to do so, with the next deadline on Oct. 31. By this point, the bond scope would need to be determined. Bradford said she was looking forward to discussing the NHHS findings and bond capacity at the August finance committee meeting.
In addition, board member Merrick said the board should be analyzing “outside the box” options when it comes to school funding, especially in light of more than $5 million the district recently had carved out of its budget from the local, state and federal government.
“With all of these cuts coming and still another three-and-a-half years under this president, I can only imagine the cuts,” Merrick said. “We’re going to have to take a big, hard look at the future of public education and what changes will need to take place.”
Merrick suggested the board explore corporate sponsorships from local companies driven to support public schools. The board member has brought this up before, yet the idea has failed to gain traction among the entire board, but Merrick said the district’s belt remains tight for the foreseeable future.
“As long as we’re spending the amount of money we’re spending to prop up a dying dog, which is New Hanover High School,” Merrick said. “We’re doing it because it is important to our community. It’s not because the building is in such great shape. It should have been condemned by now, honestly, but it means a lot to our community, so we want to save it, and I’m all for that.”
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Justice suggested the New Hanover community has the resources to accomplish many things: “We are a very rich county. We can figure out how to support the improvements in New Hanover [High School.]”
Commissioner Pierce said one of those resources is the $1.6-billion New Hanover Community Endowment. The Endowment has already given NHCS $8.7 million for early literacy coordinators and $1.68 million for a healthcare workforce pipeline with CFCC, UNCW, and Wilmington Chamber Foundation. NHCS has also asked The Endowment to fund 42 school specialists in each school for around $4 million.
“Every time I go out in the community, people say: ‘Where’s my money from the hospital?’” Pierce said. “Well, it’s time we start producing.”
[Ed. Note: This article has been updated to clarify there is not a deadline to issue the bond order in November; the county can approve the bond anytime within 12 months of the election where it will appear. PCD regrets the error.]
Reach journalist Brenna Flanagan at [email protected].
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