| School facility projects
progress Jeremy Nash News-Herald.net The new LHS wing is under roof except the north connector hall, according to documentation provided during a Loudon County Board of Education workshop earlier this month. “It’s getting close to done,” Jason Vance, director of schools, said. “They’re doing some finishing touches right now putting sheet rock on and painting, doing some close-out type of work. Our computer technicians right now are doing some wiring to make sure we’ve got everything accessible for our computers and our laptops, smart boards, things of that nature. So, we’re thinking probably somewhere in February we might be able to start closing out on that wing.
“I’m hopeful that we can figure
out the weather here,” Vance
added. “It seems like it didn’t
rain forever and now it’s rained
every day since we had the
weather come in.”
Vance said he hopes to have the
property paved before asphalt
factories close. Hopes are to
have the building finished
sometime in February and
complete any remaining punch
list items at that point.
Vance said despite the LHS wing
addition project going smoothly,
like any construction there have
been problems along the way,
such as initial “water issues”
where officials looked to tap
into the waterline and figure
out where to move electricity.
“We’re not going to be in any
super hurry to move into the
building because we want to do
it in phases to try to make sure
we don’t disrupt the atmosphere
at the high school,” Vance said.
“But it would be nice to be able
to start moving in during
springtime, maybe a few classes
at a time, and then be able to
be fully occupying the building
between now and the time school
lets out. That way for the
upcoming school year we’ll just
be able to roll in it like it’s
just our everyday business.”
Construction at LHS has cost
about $7 million. The project
entails adding 12 classrooms, a
culinary arts room, a new band
room, two additional science
laboratories, more dining room
space and a secure entryway in
the front of the building
leading to a new administration
office.
A plan presented by Cope
Associates Inc., last year shows
the main addition is 33,340
square feet, and the dining room
area is 3,368 square feet.
“I think it’s going to be great
for the community and some of
the classes that we’re going to
be able to offer and expand with
that new addition is going to be
huge for some of our career ed
department and our science
labs,” Bobby Johnson Jr., school
board member, said. “It’s an
addition that’s, gosh, been a
long time in the making. With
that and the new middle school,
we’re going to be able to do a
lot of stuff that we haven’t
been able to do in the past.”
The project overall has gone
“great,” Vance said. A ribbon
cutting ceremony could be held
in February or March.
“It’ll be great, and I will say
that because that only leaves
Highland Park at this point in
time that’s looming in the
distance, and so really we’re
seeing that come to close
sometime really quickly as
well,” Vance said. “I’m thinking
that’ll be a completion date of
sometime in July (for Highland
Park). So, really what we’ve
done is we’ve completed several
building projects over the past
few years and that’s a great
problem to have.”
School board members
broke ground at HPES in
November. All site work, storm
drainage and footings are
complete.
“We’ve got the foundation laid
and I think they’re up to the
subfloor at this point in time,”
Vance said. “They’re prepared to
move forward with the cinder
block walls but we’ve got an
issue with the fire hydrant that
we’re working through at this
point in time. So, it’s my hope
that we’re able to come to a
resolution with (Lenoir City
Utilities Board) and the local
fire officials in order to come
to a resolution at some point in
time to be able to move forward
with that. So they’re on track
and making good progress at this
point but we’ve just got to
figure out how to move forward
with the fire hydrant issue.”
Vance said specs call for
another fire hydrant to be added
to the property, but LCUB and
fire officials have expressed
hesitancy on placement.
“I’m not sure LCUB is going to
be in agreement to allow us to
install a new fire hydrant,”
Vance said. “If they don’t, then
we’ll have to consider another
alternative that could be
potentially a costly measure.”
HPES work is estimated at $3
million to renovate the kitchen
and cafeteria area, add more
classroom space and provide a
new library, which Vance said is
something Highland Park has not
enjoyed.
“That’s probably the last school
in the system that doesn’t have
a library space that’s a true
library, that’s really almost a
classroom space,” Vance said. “I
think all those things into
consideration make it a great
school and provide for our needs
quite well.
“It is a small school and you
wouldn’t think that’d be a big
of a deal, but really it’ll get
all the students out of the
portables into the regular
school building and it’ll create
an opportunity for students that
are in classrooms underneath the
gymnasium to be able to be in
classrooms that are obviously
more conducive to learning to
where you don’t have the noise
associated to gym,” he said.
“And it’ll provide an art room
and a music room that we’ve not
really had before.”
If completed by July, Vance said
the addition could be ready for
use by August.
“All along our goal was to get
all our kids into the standing
building and not the — and get
away from these portables,”
Scott Newman, school board
member, said. |
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