GOLDSBORO — During its regularly-scheduled board meeting, the Wayne County Board of Education approved a plan to better maximize the facilities across the Wayne County Public Schools landscape to help reduce operational expenses.
According the BOE, the plan is estimated to generate $750,000 annually in operational cost savings. It will take effect August 2024.
“One of my tasks over the summer, and repetitively throughout my job here in Wayne County, has been to walk our campuses and look at the utilization of our facilities across Wayne County,” said Dr. Marc Whichard, Wayne County Public Schools Superintendent to BOE members.
“One of the things that has become very apparent is that we have a larger capital footprint and operational cost than what is needed to adequately house, staff, and educate students within our school district. So as a part of that, I have created and have been working on for a number of months what I am entitling our school and building use maximization plan.”
Under the plan, Wayne School of Engineering will move off of Goldsboro High’s campus to the campus currently housing Wayne Academy. Current Goldsboro High classrooms in the older 1926 building will be relocated to a more modern portion of the campus that has been used by Wayne School of Engineering since 2007.
The lone remaining original high school in operation, GHS has a building capacity of 1,300 students. Its current population is just over 400 students. Empty space in the 1926 building will be used to house staff from multiple centralized district support areas, including the Exceptional Children’s Department (moving from AP Exhaust campus), School Nutrition (moving from WCPS Maintenance Campus), and Federal Programs/HR/Testing Departments (moving from School Street campus).
The move will greatly reduce heavier student traffic in an effort to help preserve the nearly century old building. Students will continue to have full access to all other buildings and areas on its campus.
Dr. Whichard told BOE members that the plan takes into account the importance of Goldsboro High to the school district and to the community, and will help preserve and perpetuate the school’s history and legacy.
