North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics gets its own specialty license plate

After years of work to make the vision a reality, North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics (NCSSM) now has a specialty license plate for those who want to show off their school pride on the highway.

It took three solid attempts, said NCSSM Associate Vice Chancellor for Public Affairs & Chief Communications Officer Bryan Gilmer, largely because meeting the requirements can be challenging.

To get a specialized license plate, there have to be 300 applications, each with a minimum deposit of $75. Gilmer said it was a difficult application at one time because it required the vehicle’s VIN number, insurance information, and a written check.

Now that things are done digitally, that part is easier, Gilmer said, but this is a two-part process and the next step is working with legislators.

“Little did we know when we started the process that there had been some specialty plate fatigue,” Gilmer said. “And essentially, the legislature really (had not been) authorizing any additional specialty plates in nearly a decade when we finally had our applications ready.”

Gilmer said the school was fortunate to get positive attention. Being one of only three schools in the UNC system without its own license plate and wanting the same opportunity to drive school pride got the attention of Sen. Bill Rabon, chair of the Senate Rules Committee. Rabon threw his support behind NCSSM.

Gilmer said they are also grateful for the support of Rep. Hugh Blackwell, Sen. Warren Daniel, and Sen. Ralph Hise, who is a graduate of NCSSM. He also expressed his appreciation for NCSSM Parent Relations Director Trish Aiello leading the charge in this most recent effort to get the specialty tag.

The NCSSM specialty license plate costs $30 annually for a non-personalized plate, and $60 for a personalized plate. Whether a driver chooses the personalized or non-personalized plate, $20 of the purchase goes to the NCSSM Foundation

“All these specialty plates have a prefix or a suffix that’s two letters,” Gilmer said. “Ours is the suffix Pi … so we got a little math joke in there, which is great.”