School Board approves purchase of 43 acres for new school in Connelly Springs

The Burke County Board of Education voted unanimously to move forward with a contract to purchase 43 acres off Huffman Avenue in Connelly Springs for a new eastern Burke County elementary school.

The purchase price is $1 million, the same as the land's appraisal. The contract names the seller as the estate of Wendell M. Cramer, handled by executrix Judith A. Cramer. The land is located just outside Hildebran.

The $10,000 earnest money has already been submitted for the prospective property. Funds for the purchase will come from a $42 million needs-based capital grant awarded to Burke County in February by the Department of Public Instruction. The grant requires the school district to begin construction within two years.

According to Dr. Bob Acord, director of Auxiliary Services, BCPS will use the same design template used for Mountain View Elementary School. Finance Officer Keith Lawson said architects have configured a preliminary placement of the school on paper and have walked the property.

“The difficulty has been locating the land,” Lawson said.

During preliminary work, it was discovered that the property is located on floodplains. Prior to voting, Lawson suggested the board base its decision on contingencies regarding the land. Those contingencies included a Phase 1 and Phase 2 environmental study.

“Before we move further, three of us had been aware that when this property appeared to be available that there was some issue with floodplains,” Chairman Seth Hunt said. “We are aware of this and certainly we are not going to build a school in a floodplain.”

Board attorney Chris Campbell told the board members that their vote is only a first step in the purchasing process.

“This board has to approve this contract and then the county must approve the purchase price,” Campbell said. “So, the contract date under this document does not start until the county approves the purchase price.”

Campbell says approval from the county commissioners would start a 90-day clock when Phase 1 and Phase 2 environmental study, title search, and architects would do a property mock-up of the buildings and usable spaces. According to the N.C. Department of Public Instruction, K-6 schools must be located on at least 10 acres plus one acre for every 100 students (average daily membership).

“This does not obligate you to close until after the inspection period, after you’ve had time to go through those steps and look to make sure this is a buildable land like you would anywhere else,” Campbell said.

The purchase contract will be placed on the July 28 meeting agenda for the Burke County Commissioners.

“This opens up for the study and allows us to get all the answers we need on if this is the right place for us … because we want it to be right,” said Leslie Taylor, board member.

Acord said the district will gather community feedback through meetings hosted at Icard and Hildebrand elementary schools. The meeting schedule will be established in the upcoming weeks.

“Ideally we would start by next spring and open for the 2026-27 academic year,” Acord said.