Cumberland County wants to build two new schools. Here's why.

Cumberland County school district officials are again seeking a grant to help cover the cost of a new E.E. Smith High School and a new elementary school.

At their Dec. 12 meeting, board members unanimously approved applying for $104 million in grants through the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction’s needs-based public school capital fund.

The lottery-funded grant pays for school construction, renovation projects and other capital improvements, according to DPI.

One application seeks $42 million for the construction of a new 110,000 square foot, $56 million elementary at 3876 Sunnyside School Road and consolidation of J.W. Seabrook and Sunnyside elementary schools.

The other grant is for $62 million to go toward the cost of building a new $124.4 million E.E. Smith High School.

The district has applied for the DPI grant for E.E. Smith the past couple of years but has not been successful, Donna Fields, executive director of operations, said at a Dec. 5 Auxiliary Committee meeting.

“We are doing it a little different. This time we are actually applying for two grants,” Fields said.

Kevin Coleman, associate superintendent of auxiliary services, said consolidation of J.W. Seabrook and Sunnyside elementary schools is part of the district’s five-year capital improvement plan.

Parent questions school consolidation plan

Seabrook Elementary School is at 4619 N.C. 210, Stedman and Cedar Creek, while Sunnyside Elementary School is at 3876 Sunnyside School Road near Vander.  The schools are about 5 miles apart.

Brittany McMillian Davis’ 7-year-old son, Sir’Leland Davis III, is a first-grader at Seabrook Elementary.

Davis said Tuesday that both schools are about 5 miles from her home, but Seabrook is a choice school for Sir’Leland, who is in a gifted program.

Choice Programs are specialized courses at select schools in the district based on individual student interests and goals.

“If it were consolidated, would that mean he could be put in a general classroom with students from all different learning levels,” she asked. “If you have students who need additional time and help in a class with students who learn quickly and need challenge and rigor, it’s going to be an interesting dynamic.”

Davis said Sir’Leland is reading and accomplishing math at a fourth-grade level and credits his academic successes on the support he receives at Seabrook.

“It’s a smaller school, which makes it more personable and more individualized,” she said. “The principal, Mr. (Antoine) McGill knows every single student who walks through the doors and is very hands-on with helping out alongside staff. If I see any staff, they know my son by his name and say 'Hey Sir’s parents or hi, Sir’s brother.’ I wonder if they’ll be able to implement the same dynamic and environment at the new school”

If the schools merge, Davis questioned who will be the principal will be for the merged school and which staff would stay or face reassignment.

Another question she has is whether the demographics of students and staff will change.

Davis said that even if the consolidation happened after her son moves on to middle school, she has another younger son who would be affected.

“Elementary (school), in my opinion, is the building blocks for knowledge that all the higher grades expound on,” she said. “It may be tough for kids in a larger class size, who could slip through the cracks. Seabrook has a pre-kindergarten and after-school program. What components does Sunnyside have or doesn’t have that Seabrook has, and what compromises will there be?”

The district’s grant application stated that “consolidating the two schools into a new larger facility will provide more community cohesiveness, shared resources, a more comprehensive and holistic approach to student development, addressing academic, social-emotional and extracurricular needs."

Grant for new elementary school

According to the Cumberland County Schools’ grant application, Sunnyside Elementary School was built in 1938 and had four additions built onto it, with the last being in 1957.  The 35,000-square-foot building has a student capacity of 303.

J.W. Seabrook was built in 1950 and has had three additions, with the last being in 2003.  It is about 38,000 square feet and can serve up to 297 students.

The application stated that Seabrook sits on 9.4 acres of land and does not meet the state’s 13.3-acre minimum.

“The condition of both facilities is very poor and their ages are deterrents to student enrollment,” the application stated. “Neither facility meets current building code and (American Disabilities Act) requirements. Building infrastructure is outdated, classroom space is limited and the facilities are simply inadequate.”

The application stated that Sunnyside Elementary School’s building structures are "in extremely poor condition and are beginning to fail,” along with having aged mechanical and electrical systems.

“A new facility would provide the flexibility to adapt to the ever-changing needs of students and improve academic outcomes,” the application stated. “The larger facility will offer a broader range of academic programs, a richer learning environment, and extracurricular activities, which can lead to a more well-rounded education for students.”

According to the application, consolidating the two schools can also lead to cost savings, by managing just one larger facility.

If the grant funding is approved, building a new school would start in April 2026 and be complete by June 2028, according to the application.

E.E. Smith application

The grant application for E.E. Smith states that the current facility was built in 1953, with the last classroom added in 1995.

The application stated that the building has aged mechanical and electrical systems and that academic program space “is significantly inadequate,” and about 45,000 square feet less than is standard.

The district is planning to build a 255,000-square-foot high school that could serve up to 1,600 students and include “program standard facility space and outdoor programs such as comprehensive high school athletics and potential outdoor classroom instructional facilities.”

District officials have not yet decided where the new school will be located but have looked at sites near its existing Murchison Road area and close to Fort Liberty, where it is one of two designated high schools for students who live on post to attend.

The school, originally opened in 1927, is named after Ezekiel Ezra Smith, an African American Fayetteville educator and statesman from the late 1800s. 

The current building, which houses the historically Black school, was built in 1953.

According to the application, the current school is located in a residential neighborhood “and there are no options for expansion to gain additional acreage.”

If grant funding is approved, construction would start in April 2026 and be completed by June 2028.

Staff writer Rachael Riley can be reached at rriley@fayobserver.com or 910-486-3528.

This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Cumberland County Schools wants to rebuild E.E. Smith