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Voters OK $175 Million to Build Six New Schools
education, gaston county schools, revitalization, school systems,
Getting voters to approve a bond referendum is never easy. But when the Gaston County Schools took their case to the public, they were met with a resounding success.
In 2007, county voters approved the bond measure, which will build six new schools, renovate others and pay for a variety of additions and other system-wide upgrades.
The school system is the seventh-largest in the state and has more than 33,000 students. The system has grown by more than 1,600 students in the past three years and is expected to grow by 16,000 over the next decade, says Kris Spivey, director of operations. With high schools at 113 percent of capacity and 116 portables in use to house students around the county, the new buildings are sorely needed.
The bond will build one high school, two middle schools and three elementary schools. Hunter Huss High School, the county’s oldest, will be renovated and remodeled, while Stanley Middle, W. Blaine Beam Intermediate, Woodhill Elementary and McAdenville Elementary schools will receive additions to their facilities.
District officials have been steadily collecting data regarding the county’s biggest growth areas.
Based on this information, the majority of the county’s growth has been east of U.S. Highway 321. School officials are looking to that area for new school growth. Exact locations, however, have yet to be determined, Spivey says.
Story by Joe Morris
