Land sought for high school between Havelock, New Bern

An agent for the Craven County Board of Education will begin negotiations to buy land between Havelock and New Bern for a new high school.

The exact location of the land and its owner were not disclosed during a meeting Tuesday.

Carr Ipock, board chairman, said it would likely be at least December before any action is taken.

Craven County Schools has looked at the possibility of a new high school between Havelock and New Bern for a number of years. Initial plans called for enough land to build a high school and middle school in the same location. Craven County had approved funding to purchase property earlier, but that tract proved to have too much wetlands.

A minimum of four years would be needed to buy the land and build a high school, said Larry Moser, superintendent of Craven County Schools.

However, he said the project is urgent to reduce New Bern High School's student population of 1,800 and accommodate expected growth in the area from an increase in Cherry Point military and civilian personnel.

Craven County currently has three high schools - New Bern, Havelock and West Craven - as well as an early college high school at Craven Community College in New Bern.

Moser and Ipock said a new school would probably cost between $40 million and $60 million.

"Based on the current way we have funded schools, it would be somewhere around 2015 before there would be sufficient funds to handle building a high school," said Rick Hemphill, Craven County finance administrator.

The county uses dedicated sales tax, student average daily membership money from the state and lottery money in a fund to pay off loans for school construction, which is currently $6.4 million, Hemphill said.

Ipock and Moser suggested the county consider using a 1/4-cent sales tax increase, which the General Assembly allows counties to adopt through a referendum, or even a lease-purchase plan that one school builder has proposed.

Hemphill said a 1/4-cent sales tax could generate as much as $2.5 million a year. Funding a $40 million school for 20 years with 4 percent interest would cost almost $3 million a year.