STEELE CREEK NEWS
2007 School Bond
Could Fund Two Elementary Schools in Steele Creek
(December
28, 2006) Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools expects to add 50,000
students in the next decade. To address this growing enrollment,
facilities staff have drafted a proposal that would build 63 new
schools in the next 10 years. The plan would add 3,700 classrooms in 11 high, 13 middle,
and 39 elementary schools. The total cost for
338 construction
and renovation projects in the plan is estimated to be $2.4
billion.
The plan ranks the
338 projects based on a priority formula that incorporates such
factors as overcrowding, health and safety, and legal mandates, CMS
staff have proposed that the first 40 projects on the list be funded
by a bond issue expected to be considered by voters in November 2007 . The
projects in Steele Creek on the top 40 list are:
8 -
New Elementary School at Dixie River Road (Berewick) -
$16,500,000
12 - Roofing at Kennedy Middle School - $368,500
24 - New elementary school in York Road/Red Fez area -
$16,500,000
25 - Roofing at Olympic - $350,000
28 - Track at Olympic - $350,000
The new
elementary school in the Berewick community is badly needed to
relieve Steele Creek Elementary School. The next priority for new
construction is a new
elementary school adjacent to Palisades in the Red Fez Club Road
area. The new Winget park Elementary School opened last fall and
helped relieve Lake Wylie Elementary, but due to booming population
in Steele Creek, trailers already are planned at the new school,
Projects just missing
the top 40 are:
45 - Electrical work at Olympic ' $562,143
53 - Stadium at Olympic - $5,025,000
93 - Paving/site work at Steele Creek Elementary - $$350,000
Other schools planned
for future bond issues, with their priority rankings, are:
103 - New elementary
school on Hamilton Road at Smith Road - $16,500,000
147 - New high school in the Palisades area - $56,000,000
165 - New middle school in the Palisades area - $28,110,645
CMS has been holding a series of
community forums to
gather input from citizens on the Ten-Year Plan. At the meeting on
December 21 at Olympic High School, area residents expressed concern
about facilities at Olympic. Of special concern was the condition of
the school's track, football stadium, and other athletic facilities.
A study published in
2004 found that many athletic facilities at Olympic were either
obsolete or missing altogether. "The scope of needed improvements at
Olympic High School is significant," the report said. The estimated
cost to bring facilities up to standard was $5.4 million.
Improvements to
Olympic athletic facilities would have been funded by the bond issue
that failed in 2005, but these are not on the top 40 list slated for
the 2007 bond issue. CMS Superintendent Peter Gorman has decided to
propose that 80% of capital spending be for new construction and 20%
for renovations. Because of the emphasis change favoring new
construction, most renovations and improvements at Olympic have
fallen off the list.
As many of the
attendees on December 21 expressed, Olympic High School is showing
its age and lacks facilities that most other high schools in
Mecklenburg County have. Concern is that Olympic will continue to
deteriorate and be overshadowed by the new high school to be built
in a few years in the Palisades area. The hope is that facilities at
Olympic are improved to the point that it will remain as attractive
to prospective students as the new high school. It is not desirable
to have Lower Steele Creek flourish with new schools while Upper
Steele Creek languishes.
According to the
presentation, 41% of CMS schools are over 30 years old, and
renovations generally are needed as schools reach that age. Only 3%
of schools are between 20 and 30 years old, so once the oldest
schools are taken care of, fewer renovations will be needed in the
system for a while.
The Board of Education will review the
preliminary plan on January 23, and
a draft report will be available for public comment at a February
School Board meeting. Staff will present a final bond proposal for
School Board approval in March.
The remaining community forums for 10-year construction plan are as
follows:
January 4 at Myers Park High School Auditorium
January 11 at North Mecklenburg High School Auditorium
All meetings begin at
6 p.m.
In September
Superintendent Gorman encouraged
supporters of Steele Creek schools to be proactive and voice their
opinions at meetings so that our community will be known. Steele
Creek may be unique in the county in that many residents show
support for the overall good of the community rather than just for
their immediate neighborhoods.
All Steele Creek
residents who are concerned about area schools should plan to attend
one of the remaining meetings and speak out for Olympic High School
and other Steele Creek schools. Or direct comments to Mike Raible of
the CMS Facilities Planning staff at
m.raible@cms.k12.nc.us or 980-343-6856.
Read more about the
meeting in the Lake Wylie Pilot:
Steele Creek feels passed over by CMS (1/2/07)
|