Lee County Schools question library sale and call for transparency between boards

Lee County Schools deliberated over the announced sale of the Lee County Library on Hawkins Avenue at their Nov. 4 meeting after they had previously expressed an interest in the building. County commissioners announced at their Nov. 3 meeting that they are selling it and accepting bids.

This is one example of the need for the newly formed Five-on-Five Working Group to improve communication between boards.

Before the commissioners’ decision to sell the library, Superintendent Chris Dossenbach had expressed interest to county officials about having the building for use as a welcome center for parents, for teachers’ professional development and to ease overcrowding at the central office.

Dossenbach said he received a call from the county manager Nov. 4 that the schools did not need to place a bid but needed to place a request for the library. It has an estimated value of $3.85 million and is in a prime real estate location on about 1.29 acres.

“If they wasn’t gonna use that building, and they spent all that money on the Coca-Cola plant, that right there tells me enough,” Chairperson Sherry Womack said about the library needing about $1 million in repairs. “We really need classroom space and an auditorium at Southern Lee County High School. And I’ll leave it at that.”

The Five-on-Five Working Group to improve communication, collaboration and transparency and to address capital needs in a coordinated action has not met even once after its formation this summer.

The group includes three county commissioners, three board of education members, the county manager, the superintendent and both county and school finance officers.

“We owe this to the people,” Womack said about there not being a first meeting and no progress in its commitment to the public to work together for the children. “The number one reason you wouldn’t want to do it [meet] is because you don’t want transparency.”

During the superintendent’s report, Dossenbach updated the board on capital project needs. Within 10 years, five buildings will need extensive repairs at an estimated cost of $144,799,380.

JR Ingram Elementary School was built in 1987 and will be at 34.3% of its useful life in 10 years, according to the facility condition index.

The maintenance department, built in 1973, will be at 51.5%.

Southern Lee High School was built in 2005 and will be at 30.1%.

West Lee Middle School, built in 1978, will be at 34.9%.

The district has $637,800 in immediate needs, including roofing, HVAC, boilers, and flooring.

Womack reviewed the ongoing struggle to fund state and federal mandates with limited resources while inflation rates climb.

Federal law requires services for students with disabilities and English learners, but Congress funds only 13% of the cost of special education and North Carolina caps support at 13% of enrollment, leaving local taxpayers to fill the gap.

ESL programs are in the same predicament, with just 57 cents per student per day in federal funding and a state cap at 10.6% of enrollment, while the number of English learners grows.

The state’s formula for assistant principals results in about nine positions across 17 schools, causing Lee County to spend $1.2 million locally.

State class-size mandates require smaller K–3 classrooms but provide no money for additional teachers or space, and there is no state funding for the technology needed to administer required online testing or to meet building code and ADA compliance.

So, districts must use local funds to meet basic educational obligations as the difference between legal requirements and government funding grows. Hence, the need for the two boards to communicate effectively because commissioners hold the purse strings.

The next school board meeting is Dec. 9.

Nov. 5, 2025

Stephanie M. Sellers

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