County to take over school buildings after new school is built

Hertford Grammar School and Perquimans County Middle School are still being used to educate students but Perquimans County officials are already looking down the road to how the buildings should be used once they’re empty.

During their Monday meeting, commissioners agreed to have the county enter an intergovernmental agreement with the Perquimans County Schools setting out the future use of the two school buildings.

In exchange for the county partially financing the new school that will house both elementary and middle school students, the county will gain control over the two current schools when they’re no longer in use.

County Manager Frank Heath told commissioners that the Perquimans Board of Education had already signed off on the agreement.

“We will take possession of the two (schools) for the county’s purposes and look at our options,” Heath said. “For example, the Department of Social Services needs a new site.”

Heath said both schools “are in good shape” and can be retrofitted for the county’s needs “for a more reasonable cost” than building entirely new facilities.

Commissioners also approved the appointment of schools Superintendent Tanya Turner to be the county’s second appointment to the College of The Albemarle’s Board of Trustees.

Turner’s appointment follows on the heels of a decision by the General Assembly to change the composition of community college boards, increasing the number appointed by county commissioners and ending appointments by school boards. House Bill 259 led to the creation of a second representative from Perquimans County on the COA trustee board.

According to Board of Commissioners Chairman Wallace Nelson, who currently represents the county on the COA board, there are several advantages to having a Perquimans County Schools representative on the community college’s trustee board.

Like other counties, Perquimans provides some funds to the college which educates many of the people who live and work in the county, Nelson said.

“I think she would be a presence there,” Nelson said of Turner. “That’s someone in education who could strengthen relations between the school system and the college.”

Nelson told commissioners he’s already discussed the idea with Turner and she is interested in serving. His own term ends on June 30, 2025.

According to Nelson, COA trustees serve four-year terms but the new trustee will initially serve for three years. Their subsequent term would revert to the standard four years.

“The goal is for us to appoint a trustee member in 2024 and appoint another in 2026,” he said. “This initial appointment is for three years. That will get us on a staggered schedule.”

According to a March 4 letter from COA’s Board of Trustees to Perquimans County commissioners, COA President Jack Bagwell discussed the second representative from Perquimans during a Jan. 30 meeting. The letter indicated staggered terms for trustees are important to “ensure a smooth transition of knowledge, experience and leadership within the board.”

The letter also states that trustees “play a crucial role in shaping the community college’s strategic direction, policies and initiatives to ensure it effectively meets the community’s educational needs and fulfills its mission.”