Joseph Dixon wants the East Arcadia School building to continue serving residents of the small Bladen County town in a meaningful way.
Dixon founded the nonprofit East Arcadia Development Inc. this year in hopes of convincing local education leaders to keep the elementary school open. But since they shuttered the school in June amid shrinking enrollment, Dixon has wanted the school board to lease the property to the community for cheap.
The group hit a major roadblock in August, however, when the school board voted 5-4 to sell the 20-acre property at market value, which is estimated at $2.9 million. Board members said state law prohibits them from leading the building for non-school purposes. (Bladen County commissioners declined to acquire the property, as allowed under state law.)
Dixon says he worries Bladen County Schools will sell the property to a company the community wouldn’t welcome, such as a data center. “We want to make sure no one is coming to profit off the town.”
East Arcadia Development organized a community meeting on Friday to discuss its next move. About 20 people, including representatives from the North Carolina Justice Center, gathered at the town hall.
In an August 3 letter to the school board, East Arcadia Mayor Travis Andrews said the town “is committed to preserving and revitalizing this important community asset.” He said the town could use the property in several ways, including as a satellite health clinic or temporary emergency services hub. The town could also expand recreational programs, offer after-school tutoring and workforce development training, and host community meetings, he said.
“We believe the East Arcadia Elementary School property is uniquely positioned to continue serving the public good through these expanded uses,” Andrews wrote. “The Town of East Arcadia is prepared to assume responsibility for ongoing maintenance, operational costs, and appropriate liability coverage associated with the property.”
Meanwhile, Tyrone Tucker says he wants to open an agriculture-focused charter school at the site.
“It’s really a hub in our community that can serve as a great service for several things and programs we can have here,” said Tucker, a farmer and barber who lives in East Arcadia. “It really just means a lot to me that the school would stay part of the community and serve us.”
East Arcadia School, which began as a Rosenwald school for Black students during segregation, had only 58 students last school year. District leaders said the building needed $1.9 million in repairs, including $500,000 for new windows.
The school board’s decision to close the school rattled the East Arcadia community of about 400 people, but it was just the latest in a string of school closures.
The board shuttered Booker T. Washington School in 2018 and sold the property in 2024 for $10 to Bladen Community College, which uses it as a Smart Start headquarters and to host culinary, agribusiness, and child care programs.
The school board closed Plain View Primary in 2024 as part of a consolidation plan. The school board voted in August, when it also decided to sell the East Arcadia site, to put the property up for sale at market value.
The three Black members of the school board–Harfel Davis, Anthony Thomas, and Gary Rhoda—voted against selling the East Arcadia and Plain View sites. So did board member Aaron Russ, who is white.
“This decision, I view as a slap in the face to individuals who are saying, ‘Allow us the opportunity to grow our community and to educate our students,’” Thomas said. “We’ve snatched everything of value from the East Arcadia community.”
Bladen County Schools Superintendent Jason Atkinson said during the August 10 meeting that proceeds from selling the school properties would go into the district’s capital outlay budget for building and maintaining schools.
Some board members said they found that ironic.
“Keeping up infrastructure? Then we failed to do that when we didn’t take care of East Arcadia School,” Davis said. “We didn’t even take care of Booker T. Washington. We failed to do that when we didn’t take care of Plain View. So that’s three times, and if I’m correct, three times and you’re out.”
In a letter to the North Carolina Justice Center, Dixon asked if any grants are available to help his nonprofit buy the East Arcadia School property, or if it could partner with organizations working to preserve Rosenwald schools.
The town and nonprofit “are prepared to organize, research, raise funds, establish partnerships, and do the work necessary to preserve this historic school,” Dixon wrote. “What we need now is guidance, advocacy, and assistance from individuals and organizations who understand the importance of preserving African American history and creating opportunities in underserved communities.”
Sarah Montgomery, a policy advocate with the North Carolina Justice Center’s Education & Law Project, encouraged East Arcadia to connect with other communities dealing with the aftermath of school closures.
Montgomery said she was struck by East Arcadia’s situation. “It’s the kind of email that keeps you up at night,” she said during Friday’s meeting.
Community members said they won’t give up.
“We’re not losing hope,” Tucker said. “This is part of the dynamic of what we deal with in this county. We know that anything we have or that we get is something we have to fight for.”