Estimates for the new, expanded high school in Fayetteville have gone from $83 million to $90 million. | E.E. Smith High School website
Estimates for the new, expanded high school in Fayetteville have gone from $83 million to $90 million. | E.E. Smith High School website
Thanks to new technology and an expanding student body, E.E. Smith High School is striving to grow its main campus.
E.E. Smith High School is a historically black high school in Fayetteville, which is part of the Cumberland County School District.
The school is expecting an expansion in its technology, and the city wants to improve the school to keep up with the times.
"This school is about the business of teaching, learning and creating students that (are) going to become leaders of tomorrow," E.E. Smith High School principal Donell Underdue told WRAL on Feb. 23.
The school has been in existence since 1953, and supporters want to give students access to a bigger building and more land for the campus. In addition to the size of the student body and the school's technology, changes to the curriculum are also playing into the desire to grow the school's land and facilities. The initial estimate for the construction plans was $83 million, but that number has since ballooned to $90 million, complicating matters.
Ultimately, the decisions on these situations are up to Cumberland County Schools, according to WRAL. The school now has 900 students and advanced technology such as flight simulators and drones, making the current facilities excessively confining. A committee has been formed to investigate ways to secure funding.
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