For the Commonwealth
CARROLLTON - The Carroll County School Board has scented the aroma of surprise funding to build a middle school on the J. Z. George School campus at North Carrollton.
At the May board meeting, the board asked for information on federal money that might become available later this summer through the State Department of Education. The liaison, Mike Walters, said $17 million is available to the state's school districts for certain types of needs, "and we identified some districts we felt could use funds. You all have been a client district."
The board authorized Walters to proceed with a plan to keep abreast of when to apply for a portion of the money he said the state department is definitely seeking. County superintendent Susan N. Murphy will call a special board meeting to take more formal steps toward trying to get Carroll County's share when the time is right.
Architect Joey Henderson, a member of the firm Johnson Bailey Henderson McNeel, which worked with the Carroll board in a recent restoration and enlargement project on the George campus, said, "We are hoping most of our districts will get $2 million out of the $17 million."
Board President Danny Brower said, "We've got to do grades 6, 7, and 8 to relieve Marshall Elementary and George, where we're right at the limit."
A year and a half have passed facilities on the George campus were expanded to accommodate the influx of students because of the consolidation of Vaiden High and J. Z. George.
If the money comes through as expected, Brower said, the additional classroom space would be constructed at no local taxpayer expense.
The architect presented rough drawings showing a number of construction options for the extra classrooms or a middle school and also for where a new gymnasium might fit.
The surprise federal money, however, could not be used to finance a gym to replace the old gym the school board condemned earlier this year.
The board tabled a concept presented by Walters' team that involved raising money to tear down the old gym and build a new one by refinancing an already existing loan by extending it 10 more years.
Board attorney David Holly said though a quorum was present at Thursday's meeting - Brower for District 2; Mike O'Neal for District 3; Laura N. Davis for District 4; and Kenneth DeLoach for District 1 - a full board would be needed to fully consider such action. Rubye Miller, the board member from District 5, was absent.
Henderson said the reason he advised the board to condemn the old gym, a beamed wood structure moved to the hilltop north of the existing football field from Camp McCain after World War II, is that beams in the gym continue to "crack and twist despite the metal braces" installed during an earlier administration.
"The old gym needs to go," the architect said.
Brower insisted several times during the course of the meeting that the district is broke. This is the reason the board, acting on the advice of retiring business manager Fran Andrews, who leaves June 30, voted to transfer $500,000 from the 16th Section interest fund to the district fund, Brower said.
There was talk of the possibility of acquiring several lots near and/or adjoining the George campus - but how to finance the acquisitions wasn't immediately answered.
Murphy recommended hiring Genna McElroy of near Vaiden as Andrews' replacement. She is to be offered the job on a six-month probation. O'Neal abstained from the vote on this issue.
