MURPHY — Cherokee County has been awarded $50 million to put towards a new consolidated high school.
The North Carolina Department of Public Instruction announced Wednesday that nine school districts stretching from Hyde County in the east to Cherokee County in the west will share more than $300 million in new state lottery-funded grant awards for school construction, renovation projects and other capital improvements.
Cherokee County has long been seeking a solution for aging school facilities, including its three high schools — Murphy High, Andrews High and Hiwassee Dam High — that were built in the 1950s.
"We are so pleased that NCDPI has recognized the needs of our county and this school coming to fruition will provide the opportunity for every single Cherokee County High Schooler to complete an associates degree or receive certification for a trade free of charge per the state's career and college promise program," Superintendent Jeana Conley said.
The funding is part of a five percent matching grant in which Cherokee County Schools is required to contribute $2.5 million of its own money toward the project. According to Conley, those funds are already in place from local sales tax collections.
"We have the $2.5 million match already on reserve with articles 42 and 46," she said.
Cherokee County was one of four school districts to receive a full $50 million for a new high school. Awards are capped at maximums of $30 million for an elementary school project, $40 million for a middle school project and $50 million for a high school project.
Read the full story in the Sept. 28 edition of the Cherokee Scout.