CABARRUS COUNTY, N.C. — Nearly 300 students have been added to Cabarrus County Schools classrooms since the end of the last school year.
As the district continues to grow, so are plans to accommodate.
"We have a lot of projects going on simultaneously," Steve Morris, the chairman of the Cabarrus County Board of Commissioners, said.
Morris said one of the biggest projects is to address congestion.
"The largest project on the list is the construction of a new elementary school," Morris.
Morris said that right now plans are being put on pause. The state's Local Government Commission (LGC) has to give the green light too.
"This is the first time we've ever experienced any sort of delay or problem with funding that we have sought approval on," Morris said.
Morris said one of the issues requested by the LGC was a guaranteed maximum price contract on every project.
He said there were also talks about putting the project on hold until after new members are sworn in, a decision he said will have a big impact on the timeline of the project.
"Our primary concern is any delay could potentially cause us not to meet that opening in the fall of 2026," Morris SAID.
He said it would be very disruptive for students in the middle of a school year to relocate to another facility.
"That will come with a great deal of problems," Morris said.
Some of those problems could result in students having to commute across the county to find a seat. County leaders are hoping funding will be approved during a meeting in November.
If the funding is not approved by then, the earliest date county leaders would go back for approval would be in February.