Haywood schools land purchase advances
Presented with an unusual opportunity, Haywood County Schools will take advantage of it.
File photo
Haywood County commissioners have approved a proposed land purchase intended to expand the physical footprint around Tuscola High School in Clyde, giving the school district some flexibility to meet future needs if and when they become apparent.
The action authorizes a $1.176 million budget amendment within the Haywood County Schools debt service fund to appropriate fund balance for the purchase of two adjoining parcels totaling 13.07 acres on Hospital Drive.
The land sits directly behind existing Tuscola High School facilities and is currently owned by beleaguered Mission Hospital LLC, part of HCA Healthcare.
Haywood County Schools Assistant Superintendent Graham Haynes told commissioners the building and grounds committee along with the school board had unanimously approved the purchase after the opportunity was presented by the property owner. Haynes emphasized that the district has no immediate construction plans for the property, framing the purchase instead as a long-term strategic move.
“The [school] board feels as though anytime we can kind of expand footing around one of our schools for future development, if we need it and the price is right, we should do so,” he said. “We’d pay for it out of capital funds, which are local sales taxes allotted from the state.”
As discussion turned to the financing of the purchase, Chair Kevin Ensley reiterated — “So this is out of your fund balance?”
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“Yes,” Haynes said.
“The money that’s buying this property, that’s not monies coming out of the operation of the school?” Commissioner Terry Ramey asked.
Haynes corrected that misunderstanding, stressing that the money was restricted capital funding that cannot be used for classroom operations, salaries or other day-to-day expenses.
“It comes from our capital fund balance, which is generated from local sales tax revenue,” said Haynes, who went on to explain to Ramey, a commissioner for three years now, that the capital fund is derived from two specific statutory funding streams, commonly referred to by their article numbers, which limit how the money may be spent. Commissioners play a large — but not exclusive — role in public school funding.
“We get 30% of Article 40 and 60% of Article 42, and so that generates monthly [from local sales tax revenue],” Haynes said.
A basic tenet of public school financing in North Carolina is that sales tax monies can only be used by schools for capital expenses — purchasing land, upgrading buildings and the like.
Article 40 funding comes from a portion of local sales tax distributed by the state to counties for school capital needs, while Article 42 funding represents an additional sales tax allocation that can only be used for school construction, land acquisition and debt service. Together, the two streams form the backbone of Haywood County Schools’ capital funding, separate from both county appropriations and state instructional funding.
The $1.176 million budget amendment increases capital outlay within the debt service fund but is fully offset by appropriated fund balance, meaning it does not require new borrowing or affect the county’s general fund.
Haynes added that while the land could eventually play a role in expansion, building a new school would require a much larger financing effort, likely involving voter-approved borrowing.
“I think we would have to probably do some sort of [general obligation] bond to purchase the school,” he said.
Haynes noted that the district’s existing general obligation bond for Bethel Elementary School is scheduled to roll off in the 2026–27 fiscal year, with its annual debt service currently paid using the same capital funds now being used for the land purchase.
“So once that’s freed up, we’ll have some more money there,” Haynes said, cautioning that rising construction costs mean any future school project would carry a substantial price tag, regardless of land availability.
Commissioners briefly veered into a related discussion about Canton Middle School, which Haynes described as one of the oldest school buildings in the county and a frequent subject of community concern. Haynes said the district continues to pursue state grant funding that could offset part of the cost of replacing or rebuilding the school.
“If I’m not mistaken, it’s $42 million for an elementary, $52 for a middle and $62 for a high school,” Haynes said. “So if we were to get the grant for a middle school, that would be $52 million towards that cost.”
Preliminary estimates, he said, place the total cost of a new Canton middle school in the $80 million to $90 million range, depending on design features not fully covered by state funding formulas.
