NC Superintendent Catherine Truitt surprised Macon County Schools on Tuesday with the announcement that the district is being awarded funding from the Needs-Based Public School Capital Fund.
“We could not be more excited to award you this grant. We know that the Franklin Panthers will be so excited to have their new school and thank you to all of you that worked so hard,” Truitt said in a press release.
The project, which is estimated to cost about $100 million dollars, hinged on getting state funding.
The current Franklin High School has seven separate buildings, with some construction dating back to the 1950s.
County commissioners debated whether they could pay for the project without state support.
“I’m not saying that that school doesn’t need some major renovations, but what I am saying is, I didn’t see any walls there that were crumbling. I didn’t see any floors that you were going to trip over. I did see the need for ADA compliance, our special needs people, I saw that,” Commissioner John Shearl said at a December commissioner’s meeting. “But it’s not my job to tell you what I want and need, it’s my job to represent you and do the best we can for everybody that’s involved.”
Commissioner Gary Shields, who became the board’s chairman in December, has been adamant that the school needs to be updated for safety and ADA compliance. Shields served as principal of Franklin High School for 21 years.
“No disrespect, but the seven ‘good’ buildings you’re talking about are terrible, the campus is not safe as it is now,” said Shields in June. “Also, for our ADA students, all seven buildings are in need of repair and upgrading.”
In summer 2023, the Macon County Commissioners and Macon County School board signed a joint MOU to apply for the grant.
All the funding discussions can hopefully be put to bed as the county will receive state funding for about half of the project's cost.
Senator Kevin Corbin and Representative Karl Gillespie also attended the event and said they advocated for the project at the state level. Corbin served on the Macon County School Board for 22 years.
“It’s a win-win for everyone. It’s a great high school project for western North Carolina, it’s a great project for the Department of Public Instruction to fund,” Corbin told BPR on the phone.
Corbin and Truitt explained at the event that the visit was in part to show regional support for the project. Representatives from the Town of Franklin, Town of Highlands, Franklin Chamber of Commerce, Macon County Board of Commissioners and Macon County School Board were all present at the event.
There has been concern that Macon County would not receive the funding without proven collaborative support after nearby Cherokee County rejected a $50 million grant for school consolidation in 2022. Cherokee County is still discussing how to consolidate its 12 campuses. The Cherokee County Board of Education voted on a new consolidation plan for some elementary and middle schools this month.
Corbin also thanked the Macon County Board of Education for their work on the project.
Macon County School Board Chairman Jim Breedlove called this grant a great achievement of his career on the board.
“I have been on the Board for 15 years, and this is the ultimate. Since I have been on the Board, this is one of the things we have strived for-to bring this opportunity to our students and we’re here. This is incredibly exciting and beyond words,” Breedlove said at the joint meeting.
During the meeting, the architecture firm LS3P gave a presentation about the project. The company said that construction drawings for the project are being finalized and that construction could start as early as this summer.
