The Blount County Board of Education this week approved about half of the $10.8 million for renovations to the career and technical education building at William Blount High School.
School board members split, 4-3, on their first vote on the project Thursday narrowly approving the bid of Jenkins & Stiles LLC for $10.78 million. Members Brian King, Phil Porter and Joe Lindsey said after the meeting they are in favor of the renovations but are concerned about the financing.
The board unanimously approved spending on the project after a motion from King to split it into phases, with $4.9 million this fiscal year and the expectation for the remainder in next year’s budget. The spending document prepared for the meeting was for a total of $9.84 million: the bid plus $46,800 for asbestos abatement, minus $985,150 from a state CTE grant that BCS plans to use for the project.
School officials said the price tag for William Blount, on which only two contractors bid, caused sticker shock.
BCS Chief Financial Officer Kristi Yates assured the school board that it has enough money for the project in Fund 177, although some voiced concerns about depleting that account.
Money in that account comes from a portion of county property taxes devoted only to capital projects in the county schools and not split with the two city school districts. The county initiated the funding pool for projects such as replacing numerous leaking roofs throughout the district’s 21 schools, and later increased it to fund renovations at the two high schools, which opened in the late 1970s.
The William Blount CTE building is expected to be one of the last major high school renovation projects.
During discussion about King’s motion to split the funding over two fiscal years, board member Vandy Kemp said it sounded like a great idea but asked former BCS CFO Troy Logan, who still works for the district, if anything like that had been done before.
“No,” Logan replied to laughter. More laughter followed after a few further seconds of silence.
When Kemp then asked if it was a gamble, Logan explained concerns about whether the county purchasing department can enter into a contract with Jenkins & Stiles for the full amount without fully approved funding, or whether the contractor would hold the current bid price until after July 1, when the new fiscal year starts. “We were told by Purchasing that they would not,” he said.
Before the vote to fund only part of the amount this fiscal year, Yates again assured the board, “The money is there for the full amount.”
The Blount County Board of Commissioners will vote on whether to approve the spending.
Why so high
At Heritage High School the $4.2 million CTE building renovation project is nearly complete, with plans to install an elevator at the end of the school year.
William Blount’s CTE building opened in 1972 as a vocational education center for the entire county, before Heritage or William Blount high school was built.
BCS Facilities Supervisor James Duke said the William Blount bids “came in a little high” compared to Heritage, and he identified a few factors.
In addition to inflation, the original William Blount CTE building is about 10% bigger than the one at Heritage.
“We added a very substantial retention pond between the CTE and the high school, to account for the impervious surface of the new building, and also to drain away a lot of water that’s pooling in front of the CTE under the awning,” Duke explained.
At William Blount they also have to replace a substantial amount of heating, ventilation and air conditioning equipment, including 11 rooftop units, as well as power panels and related wiring that were installed in the 1970s and have been determined to be a fire hazard.
Although Duke didn’t detail it at the meeting, the William Blount plan also includes putting the culinary arts program in a new, separate 5,000-square-foot building.
Needed
Before the first vote Kemp said she was “not pleased” with the bid, noting “We’re in a struggle right now to get our priorities funded and to figure out a budget for next year.”
The draft 2024-25 budget the school board has sent to the county commission for approval would raise starting teacher pay to $50,000 but has nearly a $4 million shortfall in expected revenue.
But she also noted the district has been working on the renovations for years.
Kemp also pointed to the success of BCS CTE programs, saying, “We are stars among other school districts around,” yet when she joined the board four years ago and first visited the Heritage CTE building “it looked nasty.”
The CTE students and their teachers “need to know that we value them,” Kemp said.
School board Chair Erica Moore, who said the renovations are “definitely needed,” also invited WBHS Principal Rob Clark and Assistant Principal Lisa Collins to speak in support of the project.
“We’re the drivers of our workforce,” Collins said, estimating the value of students in work-based learning placements alone at $1.8 million a year. “We are great at building relationships with our industry partners,” and students find careers they are passionate about.
Central Office bathrooms
The school board on Thursday also approved spending $172,494 to renovate the bathrooms in the Central Office.
Duke noted the building formerly was an elementary school, and the partitions are so low adults can see over them. The renovations also will add outdoor access to remove clogs, a situation that currently requires removing a toilet.
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