South Piedmont Community College outlines $65 million plan for classrooms and public‑safety training as enrollment surges

Dr. Stacy Waters Bailey, president of South Piedmont Community College, told the board the college has experienced rapid growth since 2020 and now serves about 12,216 students annually. Bailey said enrollment has risen steeply (a 24% increase since 2016, sharp jumps since 2022–23) and that the college has seen a 50% increase in online enrollment and a 37% increase in course sections.

To address capacity and safety concerns — including difficulties locking down early‑college spaces and insufficient lab, parking and classroom space — Bailey outlined two potential capital projects totaling approximately $65 million: a roughly 58,000‑square‑foot classroom and early‑college building (estimated at just over $34 million) designed to secure high‑school students and provide general classrooms, and a roughly 50–55,000‑square‑foot public‑safety training facility (about $30.6 million) to house basic law‑enforcement and EMS training, fitness and tactical spaces.

Bailey said the facilities would free up existing lab and office space for health programs and expand workforce training that supports local employers; she described interim strategies (remote work for some staff, shared offices, modular units) used to accommodate current growth. Commissioners asked about enrollment projections, capacity numbers and program placements; college leaders said summer enrollment was up and that the college is in active programming and schematic design phases for previously approved preconstruction work at Parkwood.

Bailey emphasized the projects are planning information rather than formal requests at this meeting and asked the board to consider long‑term county support for workforce and safety training capacity as enrollment continues to climb.