Burke County Public Schools may buy land in Hildebran for a new school.
On Monday, the Burke County Board of Commissioners approved the school system’s offer of more than half a million dollars to buy about 14 acres for a potential new elementary school.
The school system has previously discussed plans to build a new school to house Hildebran Elementary School and Icard Elementary School. The school buildings are among the oldest in the county. Last year, the school board considered buying land about a half mile farther west, but the purchase did not go through, according to county land records.
Cheryl Shuffler, public relations officer for Burke County Public Schools, said the district still is exploring potential properties for a new elementary school. She said community meetings will be held before any decisions are made about potentially consolidating any schools.
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The new property the board is considering is just west of the current Hildebran Elementary School and sits behind B&B Food Store on U.S. Highway 70.
The Burke County Board of Commissioners on Monday approved the school board buying property in Hildebran for a new elementary school.
The property is two parcels, owned by Ralph and Judy Sain. One is 3.91 acres at 0 US HWY 70 W., valued at $166,675, and the second is 10.07 acres at 305 A Third St. SW, valued at $56,362, according to county land records.
Burke County commissioners approved the board of education offering $675,000 for both properties.
The school system has entered into contract negotiations for the land, Keith Lawson, finance director for the school system, told commissioners during a pre-agenda meeting on March 3. He said before the property is bought, there will be environmental studies and other tests to ensure the property will work.
The school system would pay for the property from its capital fund balance and the construction of the school would be paid for with a $42 million state grant, Lawson said previously. The grant is from proceeds from the North Carolina Education Lottery, he said.
The school system has been looking into building a new school for about a year that would combine Hildebran and Icard elementary schools.
Combining the two schools and building a new elementary school would cost about $55-60 million, Burke Superintendent Mike Swan said in February 2024, according to a previous News Herald article.
The state grant can only be used for new construction, Swan has said.
The school system has compared costs of renovating the current schools to new construction.
Renovations at Hildebran Elementary School, which was built in 1956, would cost between $27.7 million and $30.1 million to complete. Renovations at Icard Elementary, built in 1934, are estimated to cost between $22.8 million and $25.6 million, according to previous News Herald articles.
Business, personal property taxes
Commissioners also approved changes to the county’s tax policies and reviews of business personal property, personal property audit policy and tax deferment programs.
The policies and reviews, according to Burke County Manager Brian Epley and county information, are:
- Every eight years review any business personal property listing that is valued at more than $50,000. The county would use a consulting firm to conduct the review, Epley said. The tax office will select at least 1% of taxpayers listing less than $50,000 in business personal property tax for an informal audit, he said. Business personal property are things such as equipment, machinery, furniture and fixtures.
- Present Use Value Audit Policy, which is a tax deferment program that falls into three components of horticulture, agriculture or forestry. The tax office will systematically review at least 1/8 of all county parcels that are exempt or excluded from being taxed to make sure the property still qualifies, Epley said.
- Tax Foreclosure Policy, which will go through a process to collect delinquent property taxes. The first step would be garnishment/bank attachment, which will take place after 60 days of the tax becoming due. The second action would be wage garnishment 90 days after the tax is due. The third action would be debt set-off process 90 days after the tax becomes due. Other methods, such as liens, will be used to recover real property before a year passes or less than $500. Finally, foreclosure will happen once real property taxes owed on the property are delinquent for a year and exceed $500. A final warning letter and pre-foreclosure notice will be sent to the owner. The taxpayer will have 20 days to respond.
