BRUNSWICK COUNTY — The Brunswick County School Board voted Monday, July 14, to move forward with construction for a new elementary school in Leland, aimed at easing crowding in the district.
READ MORE: BCS looks to reintroduce pre-K, get the ball rolling on K-5 elementary school
Last year, the board entered into purchase agreements for property at two locations with the intention of building two new elementary schools within the next decade. The first of those sites — a 64-acre plot situated in Leland’s Jackey’s Creek neighborhood, near the town center — will be home to the new campus.
The district finalized the $5.5 million acquisition in September and intends to construct a 750-student elementary school on the property. The project has a total budget of $99 million and is anticipated to open by the beginning of the 2028 school year.
According to a demographic study presented to the school board in April 2024, Leland elementary schools are approaching or at full capacity. During the 2024-2025 school year Belville Elementary and Town Creek Elementary were operating beyond their capacity, while Lincoln Elementary was at 95%.
The same study projected that, within the next decade, all 20 schools in the district would be operating at or above 90% capacity.
The board’s chairman, Steven Barger, said that as the demand for new schools in the Leland remains, the board is struggling to keep up.
“We’re not actually making any headway in generating more capacity because people are coming as fast as we’re building it right now,” Barger said.
During the board’s meeting they also approved $314,600 to fund a topography study, geotech and master plan for the property. Additionally, they voted to amend their existing construction agreement, extending the allowed project timeline from five to seven years.
While no decision was made on adding emergency shelter site capabilities to the future building, the board discussed being opposed to the idea unless they received additional funding through either grants, state funds or a local bond referendum. Including these capabilities would add an additional 8% to 10% to the overall cost.
“This board’s job is to build schools and educate children and so if that increases the cost and makes it more difficult for us to build these additional facilities that we need, then somebody’s got to help,” Barger said.
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