County Wide

Based on the latest meetings and recent recommendation by the Chowan County School Board of Education, has formally recommended that the county commissions should use a USDA loan of $35 million dollars to fund Phase 2 of the proposed $50 million dollars high-school construction project. Keep in mind that the Edenton Gazette reported earlier that a Dallas high school renovated an older school in support of 2,000 students for $46 million dollars.

As the county prepares to assume new debt which needs to be repaid by the taxpayers until 2053, there remain many questions concerning this project, which have not been answered. Why does it cost Chowan County $50 million dollars for a declining student body of 600 high school students? What does the cost of renovating the high school cost over tearing it down and building a new high school when the cost of materials is sky high due to the pandemic?

Did the North Carolina state legislature understand that an administrative word change in lottery grant funding language would be interpreted by construction firms and/or boards that grants could ONLY be used for new school construction and used as a basis to only look at new construction for the high school? A well-architected renovation could be seen as new school construction if that was the end goal of the renovation.

This year is full of new opportunities and the Chowan Edenton Environmental Group is excited to be involved in some challenging new volunteer work.  We hope you are also excited about some aspect of stewardship, conservation, and/or environmental literacy. 

Based on the earlier article, LOOKING INTO YOUR WATERWAYS by By Colleen Karl, Chair Chowan Edenton Environmental Group, we would like to know more about your specific talents and interests.  Please take a moment to answer the questions on the survey below. We appreciate your time and input.

By Colleen Karl, Chair Chowan Edenton Environmental Group

You live in a region surrounded by water.  The Albemarle-Pamlico Sound area is the 2nd largest estuary in the world and throughout North Carolina’s history, the Albemarle Sound has been important to the people living near its rivers and streams.  As Chowan County residents have known from the earliest days of colonization, the Sound, the Chowan River, and its tributaries generate a special sense of environmental stewardship.  The fisheries bearing local family names are plentiful along the shorelines; the ancestral acreage that parallels the river is either still active farmland or the farms have become valuable conservation lands; and for many, the sandy beach outcrops, popular as family vacation destinations for years, continue today as organized waterfront communities.   The management and oversight of this valuable natural resource will always be our responsibility.  

In North Carolina’s constitution, Article 5 Section 4, sets limitations upon the increase of local government debt and provides clear guidance concerning the need by the majority of qualified voters to approve such actions, while also providing for qualifying exemptions.

It is not clear how or even if the county can take on $35 Million of new debt without voter input, however this is an area that would benefit by more clarity and voter input should the county pursue a USDA loan to fund the Phase 2 of the High School Project, considering that last referendum was voted down. Details on the past votes are below.

One can assert that if the county reduces its debt this should enable the county to address other areas that have been in need for many years, including facilities such as the Northern Recreation Center, the county courthouse or other facilities under county management, before taking on new debt that would be paid by county tax payers for many years in the future.