The Anson County Board of Education last week adopted two resolutions supporting school construction.

One resolution is in support of the Public School Building Bond Act of 2017 (House Bill 866 / Senate Bill 542.) If approved, Anson County Schools would receive $6.5 million of the $1.9 billion that would be allocated to all of the the state’s districts.

The Charlotte/Mecklenburg and Wake districts are slated to each receive more than $150 million; neighboring Union and Richmond counties would get $32.5 million and $15.2 million, respectively.

The House version of the bill was last referred to the Finance Committee on May 16 of last year, while the Senate version has languished in the Rules Committee for a year.

Legislative records show neither Sen. Tom McInnis nor Rep. Mark Brody signed on as sponsors of their respective chambers’ bills.

The second resolution supports securing funds from local state or federal avenues.

The North Carolina Education Lottery was enacted with the intent to help fund education.

According to the state Lottery’s website, Anson County Schools received $1,561,944 in lottery funds last fiscal year, including $233,331 for school construction. Since the lottery began in 2006, $14,737,507 has made its way to Anson.

The Anson County Board of County Commissioners has the authority and duty of providing school facilities in Anson County, paid for through property taxes.

Realizing that, Superintendent Michael Freeman, said that the school board and his team express a professional desire to work collaboratively with commissioners, to reserve property and identify funding for a new Anson Middle School and a major renovation at Anson High School.

“Additional information will be continuously shared with stakeholders as this exciting journey begins on behalf of Anson County children,” he said. “Students attending school in Anson County deserve modern school facilities designed to support learning and to intentionally ensure safety at each school.”

William R. Toler contributed to this story.

https://ansonrecord.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/web1_anson-co-schools.jpg

By Natalie Davis

ndavis@ansonrecord.com