School officials hope to finish high school classroom addition, preschool building by summer thanks to bond proceeds

In addition, a bond committee, made up of school board members and county commissioners, recently decided to move forward with seeking bids for a classroom addition and cafeteria expansion at Broad Creek Middle School (BCMS). Paylor said he hopes to put bids out for that project in the near future.

Separate bids have also been sought to construct a new driveway at BCMS to help alleviate traffic backup on Highway 24. Bids were expected this week for the driveway project.

Between COVID-19 and the increased cost of construction materials, it’s been a slow and frustrating process to complete projects originally included in a $42 million school bond referendum that passed in November 2020, according to Paylor.

“Increased costs in building materials and labor have caused us to not be as far along as we would like at this point,” Paylor said Jan. 20. “It is important to us to be responsible with taxpayer dollars, and we are doing our best to try to stretch the funds as far as possible. We are happy we were able to complete some safety projects, and we are excited about the extra capacity the classroom additions will give us.”

Other projects that have already been finished include: replacement of exterior classroom doors at Atlantic Elementary, Harkers Island Elementary and West Carteret High schools; installation of security walls at Newport Elementary School; and replacement of the cafeteria roof at Newport Elementary.

Other projects that are currently in progress or approved include installation of security walls at Down East Middle/Smyrna Elementary School, East Carteret High, Beaufort Middle, Morehead City Elementary and Morehead City Middle schools. Paylor said they continue to wait for bricks to complete the walls.

Another project underway is converting the heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) system at Croatan High School from a two-pipe to a four-pipe system to improve dehumidification and efficiency.

Croatan High School Principal Kay Zimarino said Jan. 24 she’s looking forward to seeing the 23,000-square-foot classroom addition finished, hopefully by the start of the 2023-24 academic year. The building will contain 15 classrooms, including chemistry classrooms and labs, a state-of-the-art culinary kitchen with labs, space for a special needs life skills space, traditional classrooms, storage areas and restrooms.

The school has struggled for some time with overcrowding, and Zimarino said the addition will provide much needed relief. Student enrollment nearly reached 1,000 students at the start of the 2022-23 academic year and is currently at about 980.

“This year has been the biggest enrollment yet, and even with five trailers out back, we still have teachers in nontraditional teaching spaces,” she said. “We will be able to actually breathe and use spaces for what they were intended. It gives us more classroom space and room to grow. This area (of the county) is not shrinking. People are moving here steadily, and it just keeps increasing.”

She added that she’s also excited about transitioning the HVAC system to a four-pipe system.

“The existing system is inadequate,” she said.

Carteret Preschool Center Principal Kimberly Hughes said she is also excited about the new building at her school.

“We are so thankful to the county commissioners, Board of Education members and the citizens of Carteret County who voted for the bond referendum, which included the demolition of one building at CPC and the construction of a new building on the same site,” she said.

The new space will include a conference room, a nurse’s office, a therapy room, a custodian’s closet, a storage area, bathrooms and a kitchen/break room area with space for laundry. The building will also have a large multi-use space that will be used for gross motor play-based learning, indoor recess in inclement weather, physical therapy, student performances and graduations. In addition, there will be a professional development space for NC Pre-K staff in the county.

Hughes said one of the biggest pluses, however, is the facility will relieve overcrowding for her staff. The preschool serves multiple special needs students, in addition to traditional students, requiring specialized space.

“Many of our staff have had to share workspace, and with the addition of this new building, they will not have to do this anymore,” she said. “For example, our main office area currently houses our conference room, secretary/bookkeeper’s office, nurse’s office, teacher workroom, break room/kitchen, technology network room and storage area all in one space. Specialists and therapists who come to work with students currently must also use a shared space, which is not ideal. We look forward to these professionals being able to work with students in designated areas where the students will be less distracted and better able to focus on what is being presented to them.”

Hughes further said the new building sits a little further back from the road than the previous structure.

“This will allow for a much safer arrival and dismissal procedure for our preschool children,” she said. “I also love that there will be two new ramps, one in the front of the building and one in the back where the playground is located. This will make all parts of our school easily accessible to our kiddos who get around by the use of a wheelchair.”

Progress reports on bond projects are provided each month during Carteret County Board of Education meetings. The public can view the meetings on the Carteret County Public School System YouTube channel.

Contact Cheryl Burke at 252-726-7081, ext. 255; email Cheryl@thenewstimes.com; or follow on Twitter @cherylccnt.