Two months into the renovation of College Street School, construction crews have come across a roofing issue that system officials say must be addressed just as school is set to begin for the 2012-13 school year.
“Last month rotted wood was discovered at a portion of the top of the roof,” explained Clyde Locklear, assistant superintendent of finance and facilities. “Workers found that there was rotted wood in lower places on the back part of the roof … That portion of the roof is 12 years old and they found wood that was splitting and water stains on parts of the wood.”
Locklear told board members he met with an engineer that will prepare drawings and document for the roofing project.
“It will take a couple of weeks to get that paperwork back, so we can put it out for bidding,” Locklear explained. “After that, it will take a couple more weeks for pricing and reviews. The best case scenario would be that 45 days from now, a contractor could get in there and begin work on site, that is assuming everything is perfect.”
The school was already two months into a $336,000 renovation, paid for by an anonymous donor, that will make way for three pre-K classrooms, when the roofing issue was discovered late last month.
The estimated price of the roofing project will cost $40,000. Funds will be taken out of the system’s Capital Outlay account, Locklear noted.
“We know that there is going to be some bad wood up there (once construction begins on the roof),” he said. “We don’t know the extent of it, so our budget is going to have to include contingency, service fees and professional service fees as well.”
Since school will already be in session when construction is expected to begin, board member Jason Walters asked if the students would be impacted by the construction.
“We will have classes on the first floor,” Locklear explained. “The roofing issues are on the second floor of the building. The project will include the safety of the kids, and the contractors will work around it. There will be some binging and banging, but it should not disrupt the children. It is not a long-term project, so I don’t see it will negatively affect those students.”
Board member Carol Worley asked if the work will be a danger to children on the playground, to which Locklear insisted that it will not be an issue since the roof construction will be on the other side of the building.
Locklear is expected to bring the engineer’s paperwork back to the board within the next few weeks.
To reach Doug Clark call 910-592-8137 ext. 123 or email to sisports@heartlandpublications.com.
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