Partly cloudy skies this evening will give way to occasional showers overnight. Low 67F. Winds ENE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 60%..

Partly cloudy skies this evening will give way to occasional showers overnight. Low 67F. Winds ENE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 60%.

The Moore County Board of Education can’t prevent the widening of N.C. 211 from encroaching on the West End Elementary campus, but it decided this week to push for a small building expansion as part of the deal.

The N.C. Department of Transportation is buying rights-of-way to expand the highway in the Aberdeen and West End areas. The state has offered Moore County Schools $145,500 for about 2.5 acres of the West End campus’ road frontage.

The project will move the edge of the highway 40 feet closer to the school, to just under 100 feet of the building.

Administrators presented DOT’s proposal to the board in early May with a target date of June 1 to initiate the sale. But board members held off on a vote to consider the added noise and safety implications.

During a special meeting on Thursday morning, interim Superintendent Tim Locklair proposed a $1.1 million counteroffer based on administrators’ discussions with board members Pam Thompson, Libby Carter and David Hensley. They approved the counteroffer along with the two other board members present at Thursday’s meeting, Stacey Caldwell and Ed Dennison.

“We feel like we’re in a much better place than we were whenever we talked about this last,” Thompson said. “To have the extra necessary dollars that we need to make everyone safe on the campus is just huge.”

The loss of part of the campus won’t directly affect how the school operates. Cars dropping off and picking up students use a driveway off of Love Grove Church Road to access the school, but the parking areas along N.C. 211 are used to stage buses and for some staff parking.

The school board contests that the 2.5 acres should be fairly valued at $232,000, or almost $90,000 over the state’s original offer, based on the appraised value of similar properties in the area.

The board’s request that the state also foot the bill to add two classrooms to the West End building is the most substantial addition to its negotiating position. That addition would replace two modular classroom buildings now stationed in the northwest corner of the campus closest to the road.

“The noise impact from the encroachment of the road coming further is certainly significant,” said Locklair. “Based on that and based on consulting with the board, there’s $877,000 there to … construct a two-classroom addition that would provide the necessary sound barrier that the modular units cannot.”

The school board also wants DOT to agree to build a decorative barrier along the length of the property to shield the school from the highway.

“I was at West End yesterday afternoon during pickup. We can't accept any less, and I’m not talking about the money,” said Carter. “I’m talking about the safety barriers … a fence to protect that encroachment into the school property. There are a lot of small children out front.”

The state is expected to start the process of condemning the property in early June, effectively forcing a sale for the original amount offered whether or not the school board agrees. The school board could negotiate beyond that point, and potentially pursue legal mediation to compel the state to meet some or all of its terms.

“Whatever they felt was fair value, that check would be deposited with the Clerk of Court and they’d move forward with condemnation at that point,” said Locklair. “We could take that check, we could leave it there, etc.. It doesn’t mean we can’t continue negotiations and get additional value for that property.”

Four-laning N.C. 211 in Moore and Hoke counties is part of the department’s 2020-2029 state highway transportation improvement plan and is tentatively scheduled to start in 2024.

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