Here’s how Beaufort County school district wants to spend $129 million
To address Bluffton’s booming student population and keep pace with aging facilities, Beaufort County schools superintendent Jeff Moss proposes the Beaufort County Board of Education hold a $128.8 million bond referendum — a significantly trimmed-down version than the $313 million bond and penny sales tax referendums that failed last year.
After the board votes to hold a referendum, a district presentation cites a 75-day waiting period to inform the public before polls open.
Based on feedback Moss says he has received from parents at a series of town hall meetings over the past month, he is proposing the board ask voters for:
▪ $24.2 million to fund roof replacements on 13 buildings
▪ $13.6 million to fund HVAC system upgrades and replacements for 10 buildings
▪ $46.8 million to fund additions and renovations
▪ $44.2 million to build a pre-K-8 school on the New Riverside campus
Preliminary capacity for the new school is roughly 1,400 students, though the board has full authority of the school’s possible pre-K-8 grade configuration, capacity and budget if they decide to hold a referendum, district spokesman Jim Foster wrote in an email Tuesday.
If passed, the school wouldn’t be open to students until the 2019-20 school year at the earliest.
“I cannot build you a permanent facility for next year,” Robert Oetting, the district’s facilities, planning and construction officer, told the board at Saturday’s work session. “It’s too late. If your choice is permanent facilities, you’re talking about the following year and that decision needs to be made rather quickly.”
The long list of schools in need of upgrades, such as roof replacements or new HVAC systems, is almost identical to last year’s referendum.
“We’re coming to a critical point,” Oetting said. “(We’ve) seen more HVAC issues this year than we’ve seen in some time. That is some extremely important funding we need to get ahead of.”
Left alone, the buildings could face mold and mildew problems, Moss said.
Gone from last year’s list is the Whale Branch Early College High School gym addition and auditorium. The board voted last spring to build the additions with the district’s “8 percent” borrowing capacity, which doesn’t require voter approval. It was a move criticized by some fiscal hawks as going against voters’ wishes and praised by others who saw it as a long-awaited balance of equity for the rural school serving mostly African-American students. Prior to last spring, Whale Branch was the only high school in the county without a performing arts center.
The most noticeable difference in the plans is an expansion of the district’s popular Career and Technical Education (CATE) program to three additional high schools — Hilton Head Island, Beaufort and Bluffton. Two other high schools, Battery Creek and May River, already have CATE facilities in place.
“That’s based on community and industry feedback,” Moss said. “Students want these programs. They just don’t want to leave their building to take them.”
Board members David Striebinger, Joseph Dunkle and JoAnn Orischak questioned the necessity of some requests.
“When I was a kid, I wanted a brand new Volvo, but I took the bus,” Striebinger said. “That’s all the money I had. You make those tradeoffs. We’re spending someone else’s money. We can’t have everything.”
In addition to the referendum, Moss’ five-year recommendation also calls for a reconfiguration of Hilton Head Island School of the Arts to be a grades 1-8 school, no new School Choice applicants at River Ridge Academy for the 2018-19 school year and a reconfiguration of Pritchardville Elementary to be a pre-K-4 school. Next year’s fifth grade students would move to H.E. McCracken Middle School.
As the board continues to explore options, some members asked district staff to:
▪ Present a back-up plan if a referendum failed
▪ Present the most cost-effective way to address Bluffton’s growth with an estimate of how long that solution would last
▪ Present a plan reconfiguring River Ridge to be a PK-5 school that would send current River Ridge middle school students to either Bluffton Middle or H.E. McCracken
The next board meeting is at 6 p.m. Nov. 7 at Beaufort County Council Chambers, 100 Ribaut Road.
Kelly Meyerhofer: 843-706-8136, @KellyMeyerhofer
Breaking down Moss’ proposed five-year bond referendum
Grand total: $128,771,896
Building additions/renovations: $46,796,681
▪ Robert Smalls International Academy restroom, concessions, storage building
▪ Beaufort High School wrestling room
▪ Beaufort High School Career and Technical Education (CATE) addition/renovation
▪ Bluffton High School wrestling room
▪ Bluffton High School Career and Technical Education (CATE) addition
▪ River Ridge Academy athletic facilities building
▪ River Ridge Academy 16-classroom addition
▪ Hilton Head Island High School Career and Technical Education (CATE) addition/renovation
▪ Hilton Head Island High School 8-classroom addition/renovation
▪ Hilton Head Middle School 8-classroom addition (Note: This addition could be removed from list if Hilton Head Island School for the Creative Arts is reconfigured to be a grades 1-8 school)
▪ May River High School 16-classroom addition
HVAC upgrades/replacements: $13,565,076
▪ Battery Creek High School
▪ Beaufort Middle School
▪ Lady’s Island Middle School
▪ Bluffton High School
▪ H. E. McCracken Middle School
▪ Bluffton Elementary School
▪ District Educational Support Center
▪ Hilton Head Island High School
▪ Hilton Head Island Middle School
▪ Whale Branch Elementary School
Roof replacements: $24,148,252
▪ Robert Smalls International Academy
▪ Joseph Shanklin Elementary School
▪ Port Royal Elementary School
▪ Bluffton High School
▪ H. E. McCracken Middle School
▪ Bluffton Elementary School (Note: This includes exterior walls waterproofing)
▪ Maintenance building
▪ Islands Academy School
▪ Hilton Head Island High School
▪ Hilton Head Island Middle School
▪ Hilton Head Island Elementary School
▪ Hilton Head Island School for Creative Arts
▪ Whale Branch Middle School
New construction: $44,261,887
▪ Pre-K-8 school on New Riverside campus
Here’s how the 2016 referendum compares:
Building additions/renovations:
▪ Beaufort High School wrestling room: $1.51 million
▪ Bluffton High School wrestling and weight rooms: $1.51 million
▪ Hilton Head High School building additions and renovations: $13 million
▪ Hilton Head Middle School building and parking addition: $5.93 million
▪ May River High School new wing addition: $11.4 million
▪ River Ridge Academy eight-classroom wing addition: $2.91 million
▪ River Ridge Academy four-classrooms on two wings: $1.95 million
▪ River Ridge Academy concessions building, parking and drive: $927,000
▪ Riverview Charter School gym addition and building renovations: $3.55 million
▪ Robert Smalls International Academy concessions, restroom, storage building: $737,000
▪ Whale Branch Early College High School gym addition: $4.43 million
▪ Whale Branch Early College High School auditorium: $12.48 million
HVAC upgrades/replacements:
▪ Battery Creek High School: $1.23 million
▪ Beaufort Middle School: $2.34 million
▪ Bluffton Elementary School: $1.78 million
▪ Bluffton High School: $1.16 million
▪ Coosa Elementary School: $1.87 million
▪ District Educational Services Center: $283,000
▪ H. E. McCracken Middle School: $1.39 million
▪ Hilton Head High School: $551,000
▪ Hilton Head Middle School: $121,000
▪ Lady’s Island Middle School: $1.94 million
▪ District Office Maintenance Building: $76,600
▪ Port Royal Elementary School: $1.16 million
▪ Okatie Elementary School: $1.71 million
▪ Whale Branch Elementary School: $1.21 million
Roof replacements and waterproofing:
▪ Beaufort High School: $1.56 million
▪ Bluffton Elementary School: $927,000
▪ H.E. McCracken Middle School: $2.54 million
▪ Hilton Head Island High School: $5.23 million
▪ Hilton Head International Baccalaureate (Red and Yellow): $4.05 million
▪ Hilton Head School for the Creative Arts: $2.89 million
▪ Hilton Head Middle School: $2.21 million
▪ Joseph S. Shanklin Elementary School: $245,000
▪ Lady’s Island Middle School: $2.86 million
▪ District Office Maintenance Building: $483,000
▪ Islands Academy (at District Educational Services Center): $292,000
▪ District Educational Services Center: $292,000
▪ Robert Smalls International Academy: $1.31 million
▪ Whale Branch Middle School: $873,000
New construction:
▪ Two new schools, one of which with future additions as necessary in the Bluffton area: $105.38 million
Land acquisition:
▪ Purchase land for new school facilities: $7 million
This story was originally published November 1, 2017 at 4:44 PM with the headline "Here’s how Beaufort County school district wants to spend $129 million."