GUILFORD COUNTY, N.C. — WFMY News 2 got a tour inside a Guilford County school that an outside agency said is beyond repair: Foust Elementary School.
Under the $2 billion dollar master facilities plan that Guilford County Schools announced last year, Foust Elementary is set to be knocked down and rebuilt along with 21 other schools.
The rest of the 100-plus schools in the district will undergo repairs & renovations.
The funding of the complete overhaul is dependent on two items on the ballot right now: a $300 million dollar school bond, and a quarter-cent sales tax.
The district is hoping voters check ‘yes.’
"To me that's a no-brainer we have to vote yes," Foust Elementary Principal Nicholas Dixon stated. "That investment we'll see the return investment for many, many years to come."
Principal Dixon and Head Custodian Benny Rivera showed us the wear and tear around the building that was constructed in 1965.
"These walls are not stable they actually move at times," Dixon said of the pod classrooms. "They shake, and you can hear everything going on in the other room which is not conducive to a good learning environment."
"Sometimes you have to turn the heat off, or turn the AC off because the water leaks," Rivera explained.
He said leaks are the biggest problem at Foust.
"Constantly we get water leaks, if it's not from the rain it's from the old AC units."
He pointed to one AC unit that's been broken for at least 1.5 years and has not been fixed.
"We try our best to spruce thing up but there are some things that just age," Dixon said while looking at a rusted, peeling door outside.
After a tour inside the building, we went to one of the learning trailers that was just cleaned last week due to a mold problem.
When WFMY News 2's Jess Winters walked in, the smell was unmistakable.
"We're even wearing masks – and this smells really bad!" she said.
"It's putrid," Dixon agreed.
Since the master facilities project would take years, the district doesn't need the $2 billion dollars all at once.
So, the $300 million dollar school bond that would act kind of like a down payment on improving schools.
The quarter-cent sales tax would pay for construction needs.
RELATED: Guilford County voters: Will you vote for a sales tax increase or the $300 million school bond?
But not everyone is on board to vote in favor of the bond and sales tax.
"I know systems are outdated and don't work well but I don't trust that the money will be spent where it is supposed to be spent," one GCS mom stated.
There are similar comments all over social media.
In response, the district referenced its website, specifically the 'promises made, promises kept' section.
The last multi-million dollar school bond that passed was in 2008. The district's website lists where that money was spent.