CityView Magazine

CityViewNC.com | 17 W ith a colorful abundance of school supplies and classroom essentials lining the shelves, School Tools has been a go-to stop for schoolteachers and parents in Fayetteville since 1978. is August, with back-to-school shopping season in full swing, there's even more. School Tools has expanded to over 12,000 square feet of space with its move to Highland Centre on Raeford Road. Originally located in Tallywood Shopping Center, the business had been on Robeson Street downtown since 2016. Brian Barber, 48, has owned the store for 25 years. He started working at School Tools when he was a junior at South View High School in Hope Mills. Dee Banta was then the owner. "I was friends with her son, Neil, and started working there in 1992," Barber says. He started working full time when he graduated from high school, leaving briefly for classes at what's now the University of Mount Olive. He bought School Tools in 1999 at the age of 23. Barber attributes his success as a young business owner to Banta and to the employees who have been with him throughout his career. "(Banta) really took a chance with me and helped me learn everything. en I had great people around me. Really, I inherited a great staff, and I was lucky that all of them stayed with me," Barber says. Soon aer he bought the Fayetteville store, he opened a second location, which was open for eight years. "I went back and forth to Kernersville from Fayetteville for almost a decade to operate the second store," Barber says. He eventually closed that location to concentrate on his Fayetteville store, which employs a staff of eight to 10. Family ties One of his former employees, Phyllis Prevatt, was among the first shoppers at his grand reopening in July. She started working at School Tools in 1991 when she and her husband moved here. He was in the military. When they decided to retire in Fayetteville, she continued working at School Tools for 25 years before going part time and then retiring. 910.868.5131 | 3200 Cliffdale Road, Fayetteville, NC 28303 | www.fayacademy.org Empower your journey. Elevate your future. FAYETTEVILLE ACADEMY Fayetteville Academy admits students of any race, color, national and ethnic origin, gender identity, or sexual orientation to all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the school. It does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national and ethnic origin, gender identity, or sexual orientation in administration of its educational policies, admissions, financial aid, and athletic and other school-administered programs. Visit www.fayacademy.org for more information. • Ranked by Niche.com as the #1 Best Private K-12 School in the Fayetteville area • Three state-of-the-art STEAM SmartLabs ® • 71% of students who take the AP exams score a 3 or higher. • More than $500,000 in need-based financial aid awarded annually to qualified applicants. • The 26 members of the Class of 2022 were offered more than $3 million in college scholarships and grants.

• Cover