Report says schools need another $9 million in facility improvements

The Alleghany County Board of Education on Feb. 8 approved a report which projected school system's facility needs over the next five years costing $9,255,085.

Superintendent Duane Davis emphasized that the action is not a budget request. He said school systems are required by state law to do a facilities study every five years to update the General Assembly on the entire state's public school facility needs. "It's our best guesstimate on our facilities needs for the next five years," he said. Alleghany's study must also be approved by the county board of commissioners before being sent to Raleigh.

According to the report, Sparta Elementary School had the highest cost for additions and renovations of the four schools listed, with $2,786,681.

Glade Creek Elementary was a close second, however, with $2,743,563, although it has less than half as many pupils as Sparta.

Glade Creek Principal Gary West said the school needs more land and six additional academic classrooms.

He said classrooms are limited by state law to a maximum 23 per room in kindergarten through second grade, and 29 per room in third through eighth grades. A school may obtain a one-time, one-year exemption for one grade, West said. If the situation is not corrected, the state can hold the paychecks of Davis and Schools Finance Officer Karen Leys until it is.

At Glade Creek, "It's nip-and-tuck every year," West said. The school had to use two multi-age classrooms this year to keep from exceeding the limit.

"The fear is if there is an increase in ESL (English as a Second Language) students, we'll be bumped," said West. Glade Creek has 43 ESL pupils, accounting for 18 percent of its enrollment, more than twice the percentage of any other school in the county.

West said the classroom limits apply even to seasonal increases in enrollment due to the influx of Christmas tree workers.

West also cited a visual arts room, music room, keyboarding lab, and sewer system improvements among Glade Creek's needs listed on the report.
 
 

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