After nearly a year of discussions and stressing how much of an emergency it is, the Macon County Board of Education has a dollar figure for the Nantahala School sewer project, although it’s higher than anticipated.
During its Sept. 25 meeting at Nantahala School, the board voted unanimously to accept the bid, which will now move to the county commissioners to approve funding.
According to a quote received from Harper General Construction, the total cost is $657,864.50. This includes a $607,864.50 project cost and $50,000 in contingency. In January, MCS estimated the project would cost $360,000, but has since acknowledged price increases.
“I had estimated it was going to be half a million dollars,” School Board Chair Jim Breedlove said.
Harper has worked on the proposed project with engineering firm Black & Veatch for the better part of 2023.
Macon County Schools Personnel Director Todd Gibbs told the board it would be a completely new sewer system, veering away from the self-contained system previously discussed, due to cost.
“This will be constructed on site,” Gibbs said, saying Harper and Black & Veatch would be on site for about two months once work is approved.
Board member Hilary Wilkes asked when work could begin. Gibbs responded that he expects it will take some time due to the mechanical nature of the project. The good news is that the new system can be built parallel to the current one, meaning the building can remain open during construction.
The Nantahala School sewer project was given “emergency” priority status during a Jan. 6 meeting when the board made a capital project list for the commissioners.
The sewer system has been an issue for the last 15 years. MCS Maintenance Director Tracy Tallent previously said the system was “barely holding together.” Gibbs said it’s “nearing failure.” A system failure would mean the entire school would have to shut down until it was repaired or replaced, and students would likely have to go virtual.
During Monday’s meeting, the school board unanimously voted to concur with the Board of Commissioners’ Sept. 12 vote to pay Franklin High School architects LS3P its scheduled lump sum of $1,666,565 to continue its work. The vote allows LS3P to create a scope of work for Phase Two, the new FHS building, and Phase Three, the demolition of the current buildings. MCS attorney John Henning said the school system must be a party to any school construction project the commissioners approve.
Commissioner Gary Shields, who was at the school board meeting, thanked them for their vote. Breedlove responded, “You and the other two commissioners stood up for our children,” referring to Shields and fellow commissioners Josh Young and Danny Antoine, who were the three voting to keep the FHS project going in a 3-2 vote on Sept. 12.
Wilkes said at their last commissioner liaison meeting on Aug. 31, they got to “see, touch and feel” the FHS project materials. Wilkes said there would be a public presentation/joint meeting with the commissioners. No date was given.
A liaison meeting was to be held Sept. 26 to talk about the Macon Middle School track project and the Highlands School projects, Wilkes told the board.
In other news from the Sept. 25 meeting:
A five-year partnership between the LBJ Job Corps and Bartram Academy to create career pathways for students was presented by Bartram Principal Brain Moffitt. This will be covered more in-depth in a future edition.
The board received a clean/unmodified opinion from its auditor, Anderson, Smith & Wike, PLLC.
Bartram Academy will hold pre-ACT testing on Friday, Oct. 20.
All overnight/out-of-district trip and fundraising requests were approved. Wilkes brought up one email-based fundraiser, which led to Henning saying he’ll bring forward a policy clarification at the October meeting.
MCS received a Dogwood Health Trust Grant for $495,280 according to MCS CTE Director Colleen Strickland. The grant focuses on improved CTE staffing, CTE public awareness, career and development camps, and teacher professional development. Strickland said they will implement the funding starting with the second semester.
The Iotla Valley Elementary School RISE program received unanimous approval.
The board approved the second reading for the revised 7000 series policies, which deal with personnel, and the first reading for the 1000 series policies, which deal with governing principles.
With the state budget finalized, MCS Finance Officer Angie Cook said the school system will receive its 2023-24 state allocations by Oct. 12 at the earliest. This includes a 4% teacher raise this year.
Henning presented a first reading of the “Parents Bill of Rights” policies the school board needs to adopt by Jan. 1, 2024, per state law. Henning said MCS has already adopted most policies the new law mandates. Henning explained that he disliked the idea behind the bill, saying it assumed bad faith by teachers and administrators, and on a practical level, he resents it on the district’s behalf. The plan is to have a public hearing at the November board meeting, followed by formal adoption in December. Wilkes worried about those at the public hearing not having their voices heard since this is something the school board must do.
Open session ended at 7:52 p.m. Following a closed session, the meeting resumed at 8:51 p.m., the board unanimously approved the personnel policy and the meeting adjourned.
The October Board of Education meeting will be held a week earlier with the meeting set for 6 p.m. Monday, Oct. 16 at Cartoogechaye Elementary.