School board reviews capital projects, new high school planning

August 4, 2026

The Moore County Board of Education received an update Monday on several major capital projects. Updates included construction progress across the district and a multi-year roadmap for planning a new comprehensive high school in western Moore County.

Carthage Elementary

During the meeting, the board received an update on the replacement of Carthage Elementary School, where utility locating and topographical surveys have been completed and submitted to the project’s architectural firm.

It was decided at a meeting held in December that the school would be rebuilt on the current site rather than be moved to a new location.

An upcoming Aug. 11 meeting with designers will reportedly focus on determining the school’s footprint and how far the building can be set back on the property while avoiding expensive retaining walls and improving vehicle queuing.

Superintendent Jennifer Purvis said the district’s goal is to complete architectural plans and permitting during the current school year, which allows for site preparation and groundbreaking to begin next summer. The replacement school is expected to use a modified two-story prototype in an L-shaped configuration to fit the existing campus.

Staff, school improvement teams, and teachers will help refine the design before final plans are completed.

“I did go out and talk to the faculty at a faculty meeting at the end of school, and they were really happy that they received what little information I could provide,” added Director of Operations Pamela Patterson. “I’ll do that again once we have some solid plans, and they will obviously be involved in a lot of the decision-making.”

Because construction will occur while the existing school remains in operation, the board has developed a phased construction plan. The proposal includes installing temporary classroom units, relocating utilities, and fencing construction areas during the summer to minimize disruption and maintain student safety.

If construction begins as planned next summer, it is estimated that the school could be completed about 18 months later, allowing students to move into the new building during the following school year.

New Comprehensive High School

The board also heard an overview of the planning process for the district’s future comprehensive high school.

Patterson said consultants continue refining the project’s scope while updating capacity studies for the western portion of the county. The work is intended to identify locations where a new high school can be built while maintaining balanced enrollment and clearly defined attendance areas among the district’s three western high schools.

The current timeline calls for interviews with every municipality and the county planning department beginning in October. Enrollment forecasting will begin in November and continue through the end of the year.

School-level enrollment projections are expected to be completed in January 2027, followed by optimization of school sites and attendance zones in February. Patterson expects to present enrollment forecasts and recommendations for prioritizing high school sites to the Board of Education in March 2027.

Purvis said community members have expressed concerns that a third comparable high school could weaken existing programs or create enrollment imbalances at Pinecrest or Union Pines. She said those concerns are driving the district’s deliberate planning process.

Rather than selecting available property first, officials are working backward by identifying attendance patterns, enrollment projections, demographics, and program balance before recommending potential sites. The goal, Purvis said, is to create three comparable high schools that primarily serve students living within their surrounding communities instead of requiring students to cross large sections of the county.

“We need to first know if we’re going to have three balanced high schools on that end, and where could we put those schools and have that achieved without bussing students a certain distance, but just pulling from their community,” said Purvis. “And that’s the goal, which is why it’s taking us this amount of time to get that specific work done. But I do just want to assure the public that that is something that we as a group are ensuring that we take a really close look at.

The planning process will also include community engagement before voters consider a future bond referendum. Patterson said the district expects to hold public meetings in each attendance area during fall 2027 to provide opportunities for online feedback and develop frequently asked questions to keep residents informed throughout the process. Purvis said those meetings should include public hearings so residents can offer input before decisions are finalized.

Board members also discussed the future of Pinecrest and Union Pines once a new high school is built. Purvis said completing the new campus first will reduce enrollment at both schools, creating the “swing space” needed to renovate existing buildings in phases without constructing temporary facilities elsewhere. She said that approach could save the district millions of dollars while allowing those savings to be reinvested in modernization projects at the two existing high schools.

Other Capital Projects

In a review of other capital projects, the board discussed the installation of a synthetic turf field at Union Pines. Patterson said crews have completed site preparation, including extensive drainage work around the field, and began installing the turf in late July. Rain delayed deliveries and construction for several days, but the project remains on schedule for completion by Aug. 15.

The board also reviewed plans for a new IT Data Operations Center at Union Pines High School. Patterson said the district selected the site after evaluating multiple locations, citing the property’s topography and surrounding wetlands as the best fit for the project.

The district is awaiting the results of topographical and wetland surveys before finalizing the building’s design. Once those studies are complete, designers can move forward with construction documents, followed by site clearing and preparation. Patterson said Moore County Schools contracted some of the survey and site preparation work separately rather than through the project’s design firm, a decision expected to reduce costs and speed the process.

Abegail Murphy | Assistant Editor
Written by Sandhills Sentinel assistant editor Abegail Murphy. Abegail has been writing for Sandhills Sentinel since 2021.
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