Building Boom
As buildings near end of usable lives,
district embarks on ambitious project
BY DIETTE COURRÉGÉ
The Charleston Post and Courier
June 25, 2006
The Charleston County School District has launched the most ambitious
construction program in its history, an effort that will remake one of
every five schools and cost nearly a half-billion dollars. The
construction program rivals the construction of the new Cooper River
bridge minus an off-ramp or two in cost, and it's a sequel to the
district's just-completed $430 million push to renovate more than 20
schools and build six new ones.
The previous construction program, the first major one in the
district's history, took care of its critical patients, schools that
were falling apart and in some cases making children sick because of
mold. A 1997 survey found the school system needed $610 million to fix
its buildings, proof that the district had let its schools deteriorate
through years of neglect and allowed small problems to swell into
larger ones.
The first program added more than 150 classrooms to existing schools,
installed new or upgraded heating and air-conditioning systems and
brighter lights, and replaced existing windows. That was only the
beginning. When district leaders re-evaluated their building needs more
than a year ago, they learned another lesson in how much it costs to
play catch-up: Their report said the district needed at least $614
million to pay for all possible projects.
Many
buildings have reached the end of their usable lives, and with growing
populations in some areas, the buildings are too small, said Bill
Lewis, director of the district's building program. The money
that it would take to upgrade buildings to current codes, renovate them
and expand them would be "mind-numbing," and it makes more sense to
build new ones, he said. For that reason, many buildings will be
demolished and replaced.
All told, this program will cost $495 million, take four years and
result in 16 new schools, five major additions or renovations to
existing schools, five new sites for schools or athletic facilities and
seven design plans for new schools. [Six projects are planned for District #10. Click the
map at right for details!] When the program is finished, the
Charleston community will have first-class school buildings as a source
of pride and as a visual manifestation of the quality of the school
district, Lewis said. "Charleston County School District will
have gone through a transformational change," he said. "We will be a
community where companies and people want to move to because of the
quality of our school district."
What it means to schools
Academic Magnet High School students never have had a building that
truly fit their needs. That will change because of this construction
venture. The school started as a program in trailers on the Burke
High School campus and grew to a full-fledged school housed on the
former Charleston Naval Base. Today, teachers hold drama classes
in the front lobby, physical education classes in the lunchroom and
band and chorus in a small auditorium instead of a band room.
"It enhanced the program to move into a building, but it's limiting in
what we're able to do," said school Principal Michael Tolley. "A lot of
times, we've had to take our instruction program and fit it into the
existing building. It doesn't work as well."
West Ashley
High School Principal Bob Olson knows what Tolley means. Olson
was principal of two high schools in West Ashley before they merged in
2000 into a new $50 million building to form West Ashley High
School. Neither of the high schools' former buildings was
designed to house high school students, or a large number of them,
Olson said.
The new building has allowed his school to expand its involvement with
the community. Groups regularly use its auditorium, so much so that the
school hired a manager for it. The school has become more of a
community center, he said. The building has experienced little
vandalism, and Olson said he sees more school pride in students.
Teachers have a better environment in which to teach and work.
The time line
Lewis didn't haphazardly develop the time line for the current building
program. He staggered the beginnings and ends of projects because the
local market couldn't handle such a heavy load of construction projects
without driving prices higher. Still, most of the major building
projects are scheduled first, while the advance design work for other
building projects will wait until later. The schedule also took
into account temporary school relocation site availability, already
completed work from the previous building program, size of the schools
and whether the school could use a mid-year or beginning-of-the-year
opening date.
While there might not be much construction happening now, work on the
program has been ongoing since the board approved $380 million for it
in August. When the General Assembly threatened to ban installment
financing, the method used to fund this building program, the school
board voted to add $115 million worth of projects in March.
Installment financing allows districts to exceed debt limitations
without a tax hike by issuing installment revenue bonds, which depend
on future tax dollars. The combined $495 million will go directly
to building projects. To make that happen, the school district had to
sell bonds for a total of $539.5 million to account for interest and
other fees.
Two construction management firms, Heery International and Southern
Management Group, have responsibility for overseeing the district's
building projects. Architectural and engineering firms also have
been selected through an interview process, whittled from a pool of
40. Those firms will create design plans for school buildings,
obtain the necessary building permits and solicit and award contracts
for components of the project. The district matched firms' expertise
with individual projects.
Streamlined schools
Each school will have a different outward appearance, but many of the
internal components will be the same because school officials outlined
a set of corporate guidelines for their setup. Companies will be
required to use district-picked products for better durability,
aesthetics and cost-effectiveness, which was done on a more limited
basis during the previous building program. The district plans to
buy items in bulk to save money while getting higher-quality products,
and it will make maintenance work a little easier by having the same
supply of materials for repairs, Lewis said.
The district also plans to follow environmentally responsible "green"
building concepts. Architects designing new schools will be required to
follow guidelines under the U.S. Green Building Council's voluntary
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design program at a
certification level. The district doesn't plan on spending the money to
have all schools officially certified, but it wants green concepts,
including more insulation and day lighting, incorporated in buildings'
designs. North Charleston Elementary School, which opened last
school year, was the district's first attempt at using this philosophy,
and it became the state's first elementary school certified by the U.S.
Green Building Council under the green standards. Lewis said he
hopes it will reduce energy costs in the long run as well as make
buildings more durable.
What's next
At the end of this program, district leaders estimate they still will
have between $350 million and $400 million in building needs. About
half of that would go toward building new schools to accommodate for
growth in the county, such as a new East Cooper high school and a new
Laing Middle School. The district included money in this program to
create design plans for those schools.
The district will have to find a way to pay for the next go-round of
building projects. With the General Assembly outlawing installment
financing, the district either will have to borrow up to 8 percent of
the district's total assessed property value or go to voters to ask
them to pass a referendum. Charleston County schools Chief
Financial Officer Don Kennedy already has started doing preliminary
projections on what property would be worth at that time. He said
he plans to start diving into details before the end of the school
year. "We can't wait until it's time to go out and build the
schools to do the planning," Kennedy said.
Still, much has to be done between now and the next program. Lewis said
he took what he learned from the previous program and used it to make
this time even better. At the district level, it's a more corporate
approach to building new schools.
At the school level, the building program simply means new and better
facilities. For Tolley and his Academic Magnet High School staff, it
means they'll finally have a building designed for the instructional
program they deliver. The school hasn't let its facilities
prevent it from success, but Tolley was excited at the possibilities
for a future with a new building. "It can only help to support
what we're doing," he said.
Reach Diette Courrégé at
dcourrege@postandcourier.com or 937-5546.
Return ... To CCSD
District #10
