School board hears renovation costs

By Chad Rhoad
Editor/ The Messenger
Published: July 16, 2008

DARLINGTON – The Darlington County School Board will decide on renovations to both Brockington Elementary in Darlington and the Hartsville High School gymnasium before the beginning of the 2008-09 school year, District Superintendent Dr. Rainey Knight said at Monday’s board meeting.

Representatives from architectural firm Jumper, Carter and Sease made a presentation to the board on Monday in regards to two proposed improvements in Darlington County.

The renovation of the kitchen and cafeteria at Brockington Elementary and a new gymnasium at Hartsville High School took center stage at the meeting.

Architects presented three separate designs for renovations at Brockington Elementary to increase the size of the kitchen and cafeteria. The options ranged from $5 million to $5.6 million in costs, up from the estimated $3.2 million.

The costs escalated because the $3.2 million option would not solve the seating problem at the school and could potentially hinder any future reconstruction. Two of the options, all of which the board will consider on its work session scheduled for July 31, 2008, would give the school a new cafeteria, kitchen, media center and needed classrooms and office space. The renovations would also include a new physical education area with a stage for performances.

The cafeteria can only seat a little more than 100 students currently, which causes the serving period to go from 10:30 a.m. until 1:15 p.m. With the renovations, the serving time would be cut significantly because the seating would be increased to 256 students.

Each option has a different cost attached for the board to consider. “I just thought the board should look at some options,” Knight said.

The option that seemed to be the most efficient fell in the $5.6 million range and also came with the longest construction time. The third option, that gives the school the greatest opportunity for future growth, would have to phase construction in order to complete it and would raise construction costs. 

The proposed construction at Hartsville High School would cost around $6 million to construct a new gymnasium adjacent to the existing gym with a new lobby and new locker rooms.

Seating in the gym would increase from nearly 1,500 in the old gym to 2,200 in the proposed gym and would allow the school to continue use of the old gym for other events.

Many in Hartsville believe the gym is long overdue, but boardmember Thomas Jef-fords was hesitant to put that much money into the project. “If we are looking to cut costs on the Brockington project,” he said, “I don’t see how we could spend this much on a new gym.”

The proposed gym would be built next to the existing gym, and the new lobby would connect both buildings.

Architects added a new locker room facility that would house four new locker rooms, a training room and other facilities. Representatives from the architectural firm also hinted the new facility could host tournaments and playoff events as well with 2,200 in available seating.

Assistant Superintendent Linda Graham also presented a new partnership program to the board.

The Parent Empowerment Plan intends to further unite parents, teachers and the community to better the education students receive. The focus would be on developing materials and information that allow families and communities to get more involved in a child’s learning, Graham said.

The program will reach out to area ministers and community members, as well as parents, to increase community involvement and maximize a child’s learning potential. The program includes offering tutoring sessions to parents and helping parents set up free email accounts in order to stay in better contact with parents.

The board also received a transportation update from Transportation Director Eddie McKenzie. The transportation group for the district announced they had no at fault accidents during the school year, which marked the first time in many years for that, McKenzie said.

He also said the district will be experimenting with biodiesel fuel next year.

The next scheduled meeting of the board is Aug. 11, at 6 p.m. in the Darlington County School District Administrative Annex 1, 102 Park St., Darlington.