With a shoveling of some well-placed dirt on a clear Friday morning, the new Franklin High School project is officially underway.
Many of the 15 speakers at the Oct. 18 ceremony spoke of gratitude, reminiscing on days spent in the school halls and looking toward the future, followed by a ceremonial groundbreaking with hard hats and shovels.
“Today is not just a celebration of bricks and mortar, it is a celebration of our shared history, our collective dreams and our unwavering commitment to the future of our students,” Macon County Schools Superintendent Josh Lynch said. “The best is yet to come, and I cannot wait to see how our students will flourish in their new home at Franklin High School.”
The planned $134.8 million FHS project will replace the current school buildings with a 265,000-square-foot, four-story structure. The current Panther Pit stadium also will be completely replaced.
The planned completion of the football stadium is in early 2026, with the new completion date of the school building in 2027.
Franklin Mayor Jack Horton talked about the history of Macon County getting projects done, despite disagreements, with the goal of helping the kids and future generations.
“This project will have more effect or as much effect on the landscape and the reputation of Macon County and Franklin as much as the last big major project here, which was the courthouse built in 1972,” Horton said.
Horton also encouraged people to vote for the quarter-of-a-cent sales tax referendum, which he said would go a long way toward retiring the debt on this project.
Carroll Daniel President/CEO Brian Daniel, the construction manager at risk for the project, said he understands how a community like Franklin views its high school and how critical and essential it is.
“We’re just so grateful that you chose us to go along on this journey with you,” Daniel said. “So bear with us, we’ll make a little bit of noise and dust over the next few years, but I know it’s all going to result in something amazing for this community. We hope it impacts your children and grandchildren’s lives for many years to come.”
LS3P Architect Emily Kite, who helped design the project, said the journey to get here hasn’t been smooth.
“Your questions and your feedback along the way have helped make this project stronger,” Kite said. “I think one of the most special things we discovered through the relationships we’ve gained is just how many of you are lifetime residents of Franklin.”
N.C. Sen. Kevin Corbin, an FHS graduate, talked about the memories he made in the current building.
“We’re the caretakers of today and we’re the guardians of tomorrow,” Corbin said. “And tomorrow, there are going to be new traditions built here, new memories made by people we don’t even know yet.”
Corbin said when he was chair of the school board in 1998, they came up with a long-range plan that included building South Macon and Cartoogechaye elementary schools but didn’t do anything with FHS. Corbin said the current board should be applauded for doing the right thing for the community in getting this project to the starting line.
“We look forward to a day when we have a ribbon cutting and we open this school for generations to come,” Corbin said. “People that we don’t even know and who will have forgotten us, quite frankly, that will be beneficiaries of this beautiful facility we’re going to build.”
Rep. Karl Gillespie, an FHS graduate, talked about his memories in the buildings, but stressed the importance of the people in them.
“We can build the nicest building in the world, but that’s not what makes it,” Gillespie said. “What makes it is people. And we are very fortunate to have people, really good people. When we look at the administration of Macon County Schools, our teachers, our teaching assistants, the support staff, all the folks that it takes to make the school go, that’s what’s important.”
Highlands Mayor Pat Taylor said as a retired educator, he understands this is an opportunity for the young people of Macon County to realize their full potential.
“So we will all benefit from the investment we’re making in public education with the building of this new high school,” Taylor said.
Macon County Board of Commissioners Chair and former FHS Principal Gary Shields, probably the most steadfast voice pushing this project forward, told stories from when he was a student of skipping class, but that the administration back then didn’t give up on him. Eventually, he became the FHS principal for 21 years.
“Being here at Franklin High School for 21 years as principal, I thought I’d died and gone to heaven. Well, I did, I guess,” Shields said.
After becoming a county commissioner, Shields said after seeing all the handicap/ADA issues with the school, he realized the school needed to be completely rebuilt.
Shields introduced Sam McClure, a fellow Vietnam veteran who lost a leg in the war. McClure said as a 1965 FHS graduate, he wants the school to be as handicap accessible as possible.
Shields also asked Patrick Faetz, a 2024 FHS graduate, to speak on how inaccessible the current buildings are.
“I have worked so very hard to make this school happen, and I look forward to the day when all students can access all parts of our high school, including students with disabilities,” Faetz said. “No student should feel that way. Many of us on our campus, our current high school campus, feel I deserve better. We all deserve better.”
Shields said seeing how students like Faetz struggled to make it around campus made him wish he’d done more to help the handicapped students and wants to make it up to them.
Additionally, Shields asked Johnny Mira-Knippel of the Business Advisory Council to speak on how the new FHS is an investment in young people and helping them find good jobs.
Board of Education Chair Jim Breedlove spoke on the history of the grounds, mentioning the first FHS building being constructed in 1930. The oldest part of the current campus was built in 1952.
“This new facility will provide our faculty, staff, and students with the most comprehensive, advanced technology and up-to-date teaching and learning environment, along with all of the resources they need to be successful,” Breedlove said. “It will hopefully facilitate the highest level of learning, growth and success for everyone.”
FHS junior Addix Sutton talked about the influence of academics and athletics on the community.
“Our graduates have filled roles as teachers, business leaders, health care workers, and skilled tradespeople, helping to drive our town’s growth and success thanks to the academics, arts, and CTE programs that are offered here at Franklin High School,” Sutton said. “Now as we look forward to the future and prepare to build a new, more advanced high school, we do so with great respect and legacy that this institution has built.”
FHS sophomore Shelby Adams talked about how her class will be the first to graduate in the future Panther Pit stadium.
“This facility will be a place where we can all reach our full potential,” Adams said. “Building a new high school is a major step forward for all of us. It’s going to provide us with more educational opportunities, more extracurricular activities, and a stronger sense of community throughout our town.”
To close, current FHS Principal Blair King said that the 28734 ZIP code represents a strong community he sees every day.
“One thing I do often hear from community members just out in town, they ask, ‘I don’t know how you deal with these students or these kids every day,’” King said. “To that, I respond, ‘that is the best part.’ That is the reason why every educator in here does what they do.”
King got choked up talking about how his kids would benefit from the new high school and said that the staff and students deserve a new facility.
“I’ve seen the volleyball team this year adopt the motto ‘Why not us?’ I believe we can apply that here; ‘Why not Franklin High?’ As we look around at the facilities of others, now we have the chance to be the one others say ‘I want what they have for my kids.’ Our kids deserve the very best and that’s what’s coming,” King said.