BOE approves preliminary plans for new school

Pictured is an artist's rendering of the front of the new LCHS building. If all goes as planned, construction on the facility should reach completion in time for the 2010 school year.

A resolution authorizing the sale of $9,525,000 in general obligation bonds for a new school was approved by the Lincoln County Board of Education at its regular monthly meeting held Tuesday, September 4.

The new school, the cost of which cannot exceed $32.6 million, will be funded by State Capital Outlay Funds and a maximum of $25,150,000 in general obligation bonds, supported by SPLOST (Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax) and property taxes.

According to Tom Owens of Morgan Keegan & Company, Inc., by selling the bonds in increments, the system:

.. Can price the bonds at "Bank- Qualified Rates," which are almost always cheaper than the rates available in the regular tax-exempt market. The system has to borrow less than $10 million in a calendar year to qualify for these rates.

..Will be exempt from having to pay back any interest earned from investing the money. The system can keep the profits it earns on the unspent portion of the construction fund as long as certain spending requirements are met. Hopefully, the profits will allow the system to borrow less money on the whole.

.. Can go ahead and break ground on the new facility. This will give school officials a better idea as to how much the project will actually cost and how much money they will have to borrow.

The motion to approve the sale of the bonds also designated Farmers & Merchants Bank as the "Construction Fund Custodian" and authorized the system to invest $2,500,000 with Farmers State Bank (5.4-percent interest for three months) and other available funds in the State Local Government Investment Pool (Georgia Fund One) (5.3-percent interest for three months).

Blake Sharpton, an attorney with Jones, Cork, & Miller, LLP, was on hand to lead the discussion dealing with the selection of the Construction Fund Custodian and the investment of bond revenues.

In other business, the board heard an overview of the preliminary design for the new high school given by David O'Neal, an architect with the firm of Hughes, Beattie, O'Neal, Law & Associates, PC.

"Basically, the layout is classic," stated the architect. "There are three major wings, with a major hallway running left to right. The plans also include one central entrance, two minor entrances into the gymnasium and auditorium, and one entrance at the back of the central wing, which leads directly into the cafeteria."

He noted that administrators, several department heads, and teachers have had input into the project. "There's still some 'back and forth' that needs to be done with the building committee, but hopefully, we're down to making minor adjustments and refining the design. I would say we're 95-percent ready to send the plans to the state for preliminary approval."

According to O'Neal, the 154,381- square-foot structure will house an art room, with a pottery room, an office, storage space, and a kiln room; an auto tech area, with a service area, an office, storage space, and a classroom with a computer lab; a band room, which will seat 98 and includes three practice rooms, an office, storage space, and an exterior door for loading purposes.

A 48-seat choral music room, with an office, a practice room, and storage space; a 3,488-square-foot construction lab, with a classroom, an office, a roll-up door, a fenced-in outside storage area, and a computer lab, which will be shared with horticulture students; a horticulture lab, with a classroom, an office, storage space, a greenhouse, and covered and uncovered outside work areas.

An auditorium, which seats 579 and features dressing rooms, storage space, a ticket booth, a gallery for art and awards, and a roll-up door for loading purposes; a professional foods lab, which is equipped with a dining area, a kitchen, a classroom, an office, and storage space.

A general technology room, with television control and production booths, a production lab, storage space, an office, and work stations surrounding the classroom area; a health occupations lab, with an office, a kitchen, a mock doctor's office, storage space, and a medical lab.

Two foreign language classrooms, one with a kitchen for instructional use; seven English classrooms (662 square feet each); a business computer classroom/lab with an office and a storage area; four special education offices; two special education classrooms, one with a restroom, a shower, a changing area, and a kitchen for instruction in life skills.

A journalism classroom, with an office and a storage area; seven math classrooms; an administration area, which includes offices, two conference rooms, and storage space; three book storage rooms; seven social studies classrooms; four science classrooms, with labs; three science classrooms, without labs; a computer room, with an office and storage space.

An ISS (In-House Suspension) classroom; an 8,246-square-foot cafeteria, which seats 419 and features a small platform, a dressing area, and storage space; covered walkways leading to the side entrances to the cafeteria; a state-of-the-art kitchen, with a freezer, a cooler, dry storage, etc.

A gymnasium that seats 1,566 and includes a vestibule, a concession stand, public restrooms, trophy cases, dressing rooms, and storage space; a weight room, with dressing rooms on two sides and offices; a football locker room, with storage space; a training area, with laundry facilities.

A media center, with a computer lab for Virtual High School students, a production room, 30 computer stations, an office, a workroom, and storage space; a 2,800-square-foot multi-purpose activity room for P.E., sports activities, and cheerleading practice; two teacher workrooms, with storage; one health classroom; and two resource classrooms.

In other remarks, O'Neal noted that the gymnasium, the auditorium, and the cafeteria can be locked off from the rest of the school for after-hours use.

Also, the architects incorporated elements from the current school into the plans for the front of the new school.

In closing, O'Neal said, "The 154,381-square-foot building is smaller than our earlier estimate of 163,000 square feet. I'm happy we could keep it below this. I'm very pleased with how we've progressed so far."

The board then voted to approve the preliminary plans for the new school. After they are approved by the state, the plans will be sent to a professional estimator, who will give the system a final estimate on the project.

It is anticipated that the project will be put out for bids in January or February of 2008, and the contract signed in April. It will then take approximately 24 months to build the school, which will put students in the new facility at the start of the 2010 school year.

In further business, the board was informed by School Superintendent Randall Edmunds that the system has entered into a service agreement with Notification Technologies, which will allow the schools to communicate with many individuals quickly, at the same time.

"Once we establish a call list, Notification Technologies will be able to contact everybody on that list within two minutes," said Edmunds. "This is simply another way of communicating with parents and the community, especially in emergency situations."

In addition to emergencies, the service can likewise inform parents of test schedules, field trips, PTO meetings, school closings in the event of inclement weather, and so forth.

Notification Technologies will be testing the service as soon as the call list is in place.

Also during the meeting, the board:

.. Was informed by Superintendent Edmunds that all three schools have been "Accredited With Quality" for the 2007-2008 school year by the Georgia Accrediting Commission, Inc.

.. Heard the superintendent report that LCHS's 80.2-percent graduation rate for 2006-2007 places it in the top 25 percent or so of Georgia schools. Preliminary graduation rates for other systems were as follows: Wilkes County, 87.4 percent; Columbia County, 80.4 percent; Clinch County, 74.4 percent; Taliaferro County, 72.2 percent; McDuffie County, 71.1 percent; Emanuel County, 66.4 percent; Greene County, 66.3 percent; Charlton County, 66 percent; Glascock and Richmond counties, 65.9 percent; Elbert County, 61.2 percent; Dooly County, 58.4 percent; Clarke County, 56.6 percent; and Burke County, 49.8 percent.

.. Heard a presentation made by Tab Reed, president of the Lincoln County Athletic Booster Club; Ernie Doss; and Michael Mongrue concerning a proposal for a new sound system at Buddy Bufford Field.

"We want to see the stadium at its best," said Reed. "With quality sound equipment, we will be in great shape for the next 10 to 15 years."

After discussing the matter, the board voted to provide the booster club with up to $7,500 in funds, which represents one half of the estimated cost of the sound system. The board further authorized Mongrue to solicit bids and Dr. Edmunds to select the best bid and proceed with the project.

The sound system will be owned by the school.

.. Heard the first reading of the Heat Index Policy, which states that a heat index reading "should be obtained immediately prior to participation in and periodically throughout outdoor activities." When the heat index reaches 105 degrees, practices or activities will be moved into an airconditioned building.

Each school system is responsible for setting its own heat index policy.

According to Becky Barden, principal of LCHS, "Our policy is less strict that Richmond County or Columbia County but stricter than anyone else's we've seen."

The Georgia High School Association (GHSA) is researching the matter and will issue its findings in the spring.

In addition, the policy includes guidelines for water availability and rest breaks when the heat index falls between 95 and 99 degrees and 100 and 104 degrees.

.. Was informed by Brian Campbell, assistant superintendent for instructional services, that the committee to review the board's compliance with the GSBA's (Georgia School Boards Association) "Standards for a Local Board of Education" had met and reviewed the required standards. The only recommendation from the committee was that the board include consent items on the agenda. The recommendation was implemented during the meeting.

The standards committee was comprised of Campbell, Welcome Mason, Eddy Turner, and board members Robert Hearst and Wayne Williford.

.. Reviewed the General Fund Financial Report for FY 2007; General Fund Revenues and Expenditures from July 1, 2007, through August 31, 2007; Quarterly School Accounts from April 1, 2007, through June 30, 2007; and the SPLOST Report through August 31, 2007.

According to Superintendent Edmunds, "We have received the final monthly payment on our five-year SPLOST, which ended in June. It was supposed to run out in December, but due to improved sales, it was only in effect for four and a half years. During this period, we collected a total of $2,981,450.46."

In March of 2007, local residents voted to levy another five-year SPLOST, which went into effect July 1.

.. Voted to approve a State Capital Outlay Project Application for FY 2009. The system is requesting $7,771,703 in state funds for the new school.

Dr. Edmunds indicated that Lincoln County's FTE (Full-Time Equivalent) count has increased over the past two years, making the system eligible for additional entitlement funds.

.. Voted to approve various fundraising activities for LCES, LCMS, and LCHS.

.. Voted to grant overnight field trip requests for all three schools.

.. Heard the second reading of revisions to the Honors Program Policy. The revised policy will bring the system in line with the student handbooks and with what the state is doing as far as the HOPE Scholarship is concerned. The revisions were approved as read.

.. Voted to continue the school system's participation in the "Help A Child Smile" mobile dental program, following a discussion about funding concerns.

.. Voted to enter into executive session to deliberate upon the employment of personnel. Upon returning to regular session, the board:

.. Voted to approved those listed below to serve as substitute teachers: Jamie Aycox, Angela Bailey, Brittany Barden, Margaret Bieber, Barbara Bowie, Brittany Burg, Naomi Cobb, Myeshia Cumming, Danielle Danner, Courtney Elam, Tywrintha Harris, LeKeitha Hill, Latisha Jenkins, Knoesia Jones, Tayonda Jones, Deborah Kozlowski, William Leopard, Delois Leverett, Schawanna Morgan, Rebecca Newman, Kenneth Odum, Robert Pollard, Carole Shirley, Bridgette Smith, Scott Sutherland, Courtney Thornton, Macy Turner, Sandra Turner, Amanda Volner, Katrina Willingham, and Hitascia Wynn.

.. Voted to approve Faye Jones to serve as a substitute school nurse.

The next regular meeting of the board will be held Tuesday, October 2, at 7 p.m. at the board of education office on Metasville Road. The system's "Teachers of the Year" will be announced at this time.