Hinesville City Manager Kenneth Howard hopes to set a meeting soon on the future of the old Hineshaw School.

The Hineshaw School, on Gause Street, is deteriorating, and Howard wanted to bring city council members up to date on the school.

“It is impossible for me to describe what the building looks like,” Howard said.

The complex is two buildings connected by a breezeway and the older of the two buildings is 92 years old. Howard said the age of the second building is unknown.

“The next step in the process is stabilizing the building by replacing the roof so we can prevent further deterioration of the building by way of infiltration of weather and water,” Howard said.

The Hineshaw School is the last of four schools built by the Rosenwald Fund in Liberty County. Julius Rosenwald, president of Sears and Roebuck, joined with famed educator Booker T. Washington to build schools for Black students across the South.

Hineshaw most recently was home to Coastal Academy and for several years, it served as the home to fourth grade classes in Hinesville. Jordye Bacon Primary School went

up to third grade, and Hinesville Elementary, which was adjacent to Hinesville Middle School, had fifth and sixth graders.

Renovations for Hineshaw were approved as part of a special local option sales tax ballot initiative. But the $500,000 set aside in SPLOST may not be enough to complete repairs to the complex, Howard said.

“That is not going to affect the interior of the building because of the extent of the damage,” he said.

Howard recommended repairing the roof and then bringing in an architect to do an assessment before attempting renovation.

The city manager also said he wanted to set up a meeting with himself, Hinesville’s mayor and Liberty County officials to form a consensus on the old school’s future.

A local organization, the Friends of Hineshaw Rosenwald School, was formed several years ago to assist in restoring the school.