PENDER COUNTY — A new school coming to neighboring Pender County has been altered to include more space for a growing student population.
READ MORE: Pender commissioners greenlight $6M land purchase for new K-8 school
Pender County Board of Education called a special meeting this week on May 22 regarding expanding a new K-8 school by 4,000-square-feet. An early estimate of $1.3 million is expected to cover the expansion.
The total square footage will be 24,000 for a population of 2,300 students and bringing in 14 more classrooms to the building.
Last January, the district reported 90% capacity for its buildings with a total of 10,988 students — an 8.5% increase from 2021. The new campus will include an elementary school, for kindergarten through fifth grade, and a middle school, for sixth-through-eighth-grade.
Construction of a second story is planned for the middle-school wing.
“This approach not only meets the urgent requirement for increased middle school capacity but also ensures the overall project remains within site capacity limits,” according to a press release.
It will make way for 312 instead of 250 students in that wing.
The school board will agree to an updated design at its June 11 meeting. They approved a $6 million purchase of a 145-acre parcel on N.C. Highway 210 in Hampstead last August, where the school will be built.
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