Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

JACKSON – By a 4-1 vote during their meeting on Jan. 27, the Northampton County Board of Commissioners agreed to commit money to the high school construction project to cover the funding shortfall.

They remain optimistic, however, that potential New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) funding may eliminate the need for the county’s $4.19 million contribution.

Earlier this month, Northampton County Schools Superintendent Dr. Rosa Atkins came to the county commissioners with a formal request to bridge their funding gap, so that they may move forward with the construction project. The district currently has $62 million in grant funding from the state’s Needs-Based Public School Capital Fund to build a new centrally-located high school on Highway 305 just outside of the Jackson town limits.

But when bids came in for the project, they were several million dollars over budget. The district managed to make changes to reduce that deficit, but still remained a few million over budget. To address the shortfall, Dr. Atkins requested that the estimated $1.2 million sales tax reimbursement (that will be received from the purchase of building materials on the project, for example) be contributed to the shortfall as well as an additional $4,198,848.

NC Department of Public Instruction recently said that sales tax reimbursement funds from the school construction project must be returned to the local school district, and cannot be kept by the county.

The district has also been trying to seek out NMTC funding to cover the shortfall instead, but reported at a joint board meeting on Jan. 16 that most of the available funding had already been spent elsewhere during this funding cycle, which was coming to a close. A new funding cycle, however, will begin later this year, in September.

NMTC is a program created by the federal government where wealthy investors are encouraged to invest in low-income areas to receive tax credits in return.

At the Jan. 27 meeting, Commissioner Board Chair Ed Martin gave a brief overview of the district’s request to the two new commissioners – Keedra Whitaker and Keith Edwards – who were unable to attend the Jan. 16 meeting due to state-mandated commissioner training.

“The school board is applying for New Markets Tax Credits,” Martin stated. “We would only be making it [the $4.19 million] available to them assuming they don’t get that tax credit funds. And it would be distributed at the end of the construction process. It would not be coming out [of the county funds] any time soon.”

Martin said he reached out to the company who is assisting the school board in seeking NMTC funds so he could have a better idea of the school district’s odds when they try again for the funding.

“He told me in his 10 years of doing this, it was the most deserving application he ever worked on,” Martin reported.

But setting the possibility of NMTC aside, Martin said the county would be able to contribute $4.19 million from their Fund Balance. According to the FY24 audit report, the county’s unassigned Fund Balance is $22.7 million.

“The money is there without raising taxes,” Martin said.

Commissioner Keith Edwards asked when the construction bids expired.

Phil Matthews, who serves as Special Assistant to the Superintendent, said Feb. 9. After that date, the district would have to solicit new bids.

“The time is getting short,” Martin noted.

Edwards expressed some concern in committing the $4.19 million if it would make the county tax rate increase.

Martin emphasized that the money will come from the county’s Fund Balance, and will not affect the county tax rate.

“No [county] money would actually change hands until after July 1, 2026 if they don’t get the [NMTC] money,” he reiterated. “They will find out in October or November if they’re going to get that money.”

Commissioner Kelvin Edwards spoke up in support of the new high school, noting one benefit of the location will be to include all the Career & Technical Education (CTE) classes on the same campus. Currently, students are bused from the high school in Gaston to the site in Creeksville to take CTE classes.

Kelvin Edwards motioned to approve the district’s funding request, and Commissioner Melvetta Broadnax Taylor seconded. The motion passed with everyone voting in favor except for Keith Edwards.

The News Herald reached out to County Manager Julian Phillips to confirm the details of the county’s commitment to providing the funds.

He confirmed that, “if payment of this committed amount [$4.19 million] becomes necessary at the end of the construction project, it will be made from the county’s unrestricted Fund Balance.”

He also added that the funds will be set aside in a separate account until the need arises for them. And if the Board of Education receives more outside funding through NMTC or any other source, the county’s total commitment amount will be reduced.

“If the tax credit materializes, we will reverse the entry from that [separate] account back to general funds,” Phillips explained.