The Amherst County School Board voted to approve a contract with Verizon Wireless to place a cell tower on school property and move the proposal to the next level of review at the county, after a split vote during the board’s October meeting.

Board members and several residents debated whether the school campus was the appropriate site for the tower, balancing student safety and emergency-communications concerns against health questions raised by some community members. The board approved the contract in a vote the chair summarized as four in favor, two opposed and one abstention.

The matter of a Verizon tower at the Amherst County High School has been the subject of outreach and testing this fall. Doctor Wells, who presented the item to the board, said Verizon had performed a balloon test and a community meeting and that the division had run a public survey from Sept. 15–26 that drew 46 responses: 34 in favor (73.9 percent), 10 opposed (21.7 percent) and two undecided (4.3 percent).

Board members spoke at length before the vote. Miss Saunders, a member participating remotely, said she had been contacted by a principal who described inadequate cell service outside his office and that “safety should be one of our concerns,” and she said she would vote yes. Miss Thompson, also remote, asked the board to consider earlier contracts that might grant exclusive rights to other companies before signing a new agreement and later said she would vote no. Miss Justice said she was concerned that placing a cell tower on school property could force some parents to remove children from compulsory schooling if they believed the tower posed a health risk; she said that consideration weighed toward a no vote. Miss Ligon said she would abstain because she felt survey responses were too few to represent the full community perspective.

Board member Childress, who moved the motion to approve the contract, argued that a campus location could be preferable to other possible sites and that the public hearing showed majority support. Mr. Rossi said he backed moving the proposal to the county level to allow broader public review and said he hoped the county process would encourage additional community engagement.

Board discussion also included a legal and procedural note. Miss Thompson asked staff to check whether a previous contract with an outside company (referred to at the meeting as a Milestone Communications-era contract) still grants exclusive rights to put communications equipment on school properties; Doctor Wells said the administration would verify whether an earlier agreement remains in effect before the division executes any new agreement.

The board’s approval sends the Verizon contract forward to the Amherst County permitting process; county planning and the Board of Supervisors retain authority over land-use approvals. Board members and several speakers noted that the county’s review is separate and that, as a matter of local code cited at the meeting, county officials are limited in the types of health concerns they may consider during land-use deliberations.

The board did not set a final implementation timetable. Doctor Wells said any execution of a contract would be coordinated with the county and that the administration would return to the board with follow-up details, including any outstanding contractual exclusivity issues and any conditions requested by the county.

With the board’s vote, the proposal advances but could still be altered or rejected by county regulators and supervisors.