Halifax County commissioners on a 5-1 vote today agreed to apply for a Needs-based Public School Capital Fund grant for the renovation of Weldon High School.
The decision to proceed with the application, which is due to the North Carolina State Department of Public Instruction Tuesday, came following nearly an hour-and-a-half of discussion during a meeting which was recessed from last Monday. The Weldon discussion was the first on the agenda followed by a request from Halifax County Schools.
On a motion by Commissioner Carolyn Johnson and a second from Commissioner John Smith, the authority to proceed with the application passed with Commissioner Patrick Qualls casting the dissenting vote.
Weldon plans a complete renovation of its high school, according to the project description. “The renovation will improve teaching spaces to meet current high school standards including square footage and adjacencies; improve non-teaching areas such as (the) existing undersized school nutrition kitchen and dining areas; create multipurpose space that provides technology and curriculum pedagogies flexibility; develop undersized administration and staff support spaces; and address safety and security measures in the school design.”
The application describing the critical needs says that the Weldon High School students population poverty rate is 86.96 percent. “The school is identified as a recurring low-performing and comprehensive support and improvement school, which has experienced a decrease in enrollment over the past three years as well as high teacher turnover.”
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Interim Superintendent Dennis Sawyer said combined with the 149 students enrolled in the high school and 123 enrolled in the Roanoke Valley Early College, the total high school enrollment in Weldon City Schools is 272.
The current high school building was built in 1960 with the latest renovation coming in 2011 to the roof and in 2012 to the field house locker room. “Obsolete buildings have a negative effect upon the learning process of students,” the narrative of the application says, “whereas safe, modern and controlled environment facilities enhance the learning process.”
The application says studies have demonstrated a relationship between student performance in both achievement and behavior and the conditions of the environment. “Student achievement is linked to our school’s four design patterns. The design patterns proposed are movement and circulation, and daylighting and views.”
The school system said the project would begin with the school nutrition and student dining room with a larger stage that is code compliant with a storage room.
The kitchen expansion on the north and south sides would provide new storage, office, toilet, cooler, and expanded loading dock.
The system is seeking up to $50 million for the high school renovation project. A 5 percent match is required.
Qualls asked the school system’s staff about a study which the county is seeking for a joint high school and middle school. “I’ve been told y’all don’t want that anymore.”
In January the county announced that it was accepting Requests for Qualifications for a Feasibility Study for Architectural and Engineering Services for the proposed co-location of new Weldon High School facilities at the current Weldon Middle School site.
Weldon school board member James “Tank” Williams said the system wasn’t against the feasibility study Qualls mentioned. “We just saw this as an opportunity to get a grant. Even with the refurbishing or rebuilt school this would allow the county to get funds to build or refurbish the school even though we’re not against a feasibility study.”
School board Chairman O.D. Sykes said the board has made it clear that they don’t want to build a high school at the middle school site because of the persistent problems at the middle school. “The land there is so wet because it is basically built in a valley. There are reptiles that are in the building all-year. The tiles continue to pop, the walls are cracking. It needs a new boiler.”
Sykes said at the time it would cost approximately $5 million to repair the middle school. “With inflation as high as it is, that's probably $7 million or closer to $8 million. We never agreed to build a school at the current middle school site. The board made it clear to me Friday that they did not want to put a high school on the campus of the middle school. They made that perfectly clear to me. If you put another school there you’re talking about the same thing over a few years. This has been an ongoing thing.”
School board attorney Rod Malone said the $2.5 million the county would have to pony up for the match “is a drop in the bucket for these kids. There’s no other scenario out there where the county would be able to address this even if you had to do the match. The grant is a no-brainer if you can get the money to fund the project and the only county expenditure is the match. This is just a remarkable opportunity for the county and one that is hard to imagine not pursuing.”
Board of commissioners Chair Vernon Bryant said the school system has to contribute to the match. “You’re going to have to have some skin in the game. That means you’re going to have to step up and put some money forward.”
Commissioner Carolyn Johnson asked whether building a high school is off the table.
Sykes said whether the school board would be satisfied with renovations or a new high school would be a question for Thursday’s meeting.
Qualls said he didn't think there was a chance the school system would get the grant for the number of students at the high school. He said he didn’t think it was realistic. “The idea of a feasibility study where you go to them with facts from a factual-based study would make more sense.”
Sykes said DPI instructed Weldon to apply for the maximum amount allowable which is the $50 million. “We don't know how much will be approved but we do know that whatever is approved the lower the amount that is approved the lower the amount that will be required.”
