The fate of Fayetteville’s E.E. Smith: Cumberland commissioner candidates show split

Peter Pappas, a candidate for Cumberland County commissioner, said he sympathizes with alumni of E.E. Smith High School who do not want to see Smith built away from its current home on Seabrook Road.

But the Seabrook and Broadell neighborhood where the school is located is aging out, he said.

“It’s just what happens,” he said. “People age out, people move out.”

Pappas said a proposal to build a new E.E. Smith High School on the former Stryker Golf Course on Fort Liberty had several things going in its favor, including not having the soil contamination of other proposed sites; and that Liberty would lease the land to the county for 50 years at $1 a year.

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Pappas also predicted that the school's alumni would never let the history of E.E. Smith be lost, wherever a new school might wind up. He says alumni have explained to him how it wasn’t just a school but a sanctuary. He said the school had a 100-year history of producing great leaders.

“By all measures, E.E. Smith has thee strongest alumni association and Cumberland County. Y’all are some strong folks.”

He added, though, that in terms of the current location: “It’s time to move on.”

I asked Pappas his thoughts on the beloved high school in an interview on WIDU 99.7 radio station for “Candidate Conversations.” That effort, led by WIDU's Wes Cookman and Jay Reinstein, and an election team of partners that includes The Fayetteville Observer, has seen more than 65 candidate interviews so far this election; the interviews are collected here.

I have interviewed the six District 2 candidates seeking a seat on the county Board of Commissioners in the Nov. 5 general election — three Democrats and three Republicans. They are competing for three seats on the seven-member body.

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The Republican candidates are Henry Tyson, who placed first in the Republican primary; Pappas; and Pavan Patel.

The Democrats are Kirk deViere, who placed first; Dr. Toni Stewart, who is an incumbent seeking reelection; and Karla Icaza.

Video of the full interviews are here. The candidates answer questions about the groundwater contamination in the county caused by the Chemours Co.; the $145-plus million Crown Events center project; the schools budget; and other topics.

Meanwhile, here are more of their responses to my questions about the location of a future E.E. Smith High.

Stewart: Waiting on a plan

The Cumberland County Board of Education would ultimately pick a location for a new E.E. Smith High School. Funding for Cumberland County Schools, however, comes out of the county budget, so the commissioners would have to agree with the school board’s pick.

“The board of education has not brought the county commissioners anything to consider yet,” said Stewart, the incumbent. She said she did not want to sway the board one way or the other.

She said building the school on Stryker Golf Course on Fort Liberty, which is one proposed plan, might not maximize the economic development a new school can bring. She noted the economic development boost that grew over time for the neighborhoods near Jack Britt's and Gray's Creek high schools.

She asked where would the economic development be near Stryker: “You can’t build anything else there.”

Stewart did say of the Liberty site that parents or caregivers should not have concerns about access to the school. They would not have to go through gates, she said, noting that a school like Bill Hefner Elementary is also on land owned by Fort Liberty.

Tyson: What are the school system's needs?

Tyson said he would like to see a comprehensive plan by the school board that looks at all the system’s maintenance and repair needs.

“We do need some upgrading there, we need some changes,” he said. “If the community stakeholders say we need a new school. Let's take a look at that.”

But people should not be locked into one view and broad public input is needed, he said.

“Let’s make sure everybody's on board with it,” he said.

DeViere: When was the last redistricting?

DeViere says it boils down to: “How are we going to fund it?”

He also noted the need for “rehabilitation and update of other schools.”

He asked when was the last time the school took a look at redistricting, and said that would help inform any decision about Smith.

“We need to put schools where the growth is going to be,” he said.

He also said the military community needs to have access to a public school.

“Now, whether that’s at E.E. Smith or another school, I think that’s another discussion as well, and that goes back to the redistricting.”

Patel: It might entice teachers

Patel said: “I think we need to do what’s best for the students,” adding that each year spent waiting to give them a “proper facility” impacts their opportunities.

Also: “A new facility might entice teachers to come because they’ll have access to more resources — just a better facility.”

Patel said he wants to hear more from parents of elementary school and middle school children, who would eventually be the students attending a new high school.

Icaza: Plenty to think about

Icaza said there were lots of things to think about, including the best and wisest use of land and money and what partnerships make sense — including whether a partnership with Fort Liberty is best.

“I’m really not decided yet,” she said.

Opinion Editor Myron B. Pitts can be reached at mpitts@fayobserver.com or 910-486-3559.

This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: 6 Cumberland commissioner candidates asked about fate of E.E. Smith