The Long County School System’s new school will be ready for the first day of class on Aug. 1, Long County School Superintendent Dr. Robert Waters told the Courier this week.
“We should have no problem starting school,” Waters said.
The Long County School System received $27.1 million in state funding for the new school construction project, and about 65 percent of voters approved the $3 million bond referendum in support of the project in May 2015, he said.
“Our schools have a lot of support here,” Waters said.
The new school has two wings, one for elementary school students, and one for middle school students. The superintendent said a final fire inspection is scheduled for July 12, and he expects the school building to be turned over to the district on July 16.
“We will have a ‘punch list’ of items, odds and ends like touch up painting, still to do,” he said.
Waters added that a parking lot for elementary school teachers and a round-about is finished, and the entry to the elementary wing should be completed this week.
The Liberty County School System plans to renovate the gymnasium at Bradwell Institute, with an estimated start date for partial interior demolition in “the near future,” according to Jason Rogers, LCSS executive director for operations. The system wants to have the gym renovation portion of the project finished by by mid-November, before the start of basketball season, Rogers said.
Rogers said the board approved the “guaranteed maximum price” of $5,735,042 million when it entered into contract with Charles Perry Partners, Inc. of Savannah. The district is now acquiring the necessary permits. School officials plan to complete the project in two phases, concentrating on the gym renovation first. Gym renovations include the installation of new flooring, bleachers and lightening. “And there are plans to tear out the existing PE locker rooms and expand seating in the gym area,” Rogers added.
The second area to be renovated is an old technical career wing, he said. This phase calls for constructing new PE locker rooms, locker rooms for the boys and girls varsity basketball teams, and rooms for equipment storage, training and film viewing.
This should free up additional space for the weight room and, in future, the district plans to modify another space to house its early childhood education pathway, according to Rogers.