<body><div><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=01TUBF_1FOZrcEl00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=01TUBF_1FOZrcEl00" width="1036" height="1034" ><figcaption>Danny Weeks</figcaption></figure>A number of major facility and construction projects overseen by Robertson County Schools passed significant steps last week from the board of education. The approvals included a potential land purchase for a new school in Springfield, new air conditioners at Greenbrier Middle, and preliminary designs for the new White House Heritage Middle School.At their meeting on Sept. 14, the school board unanimously voted for board chairman Josh White to approve the contract for the purchase of land within the city of Springfield, once received by the director of schools, and pending a 48-hour review period for the remaining board members.According to Director of Schools Dr. Danny Weeks, the property’s current landowner submitted a letter of intent to the district’s legal counsel to sell roughly 35 acres of land, with a purchase price of $2.15 million.The purchase sales agreement was prepared by Samuel L. Jackson, the legal counsel and attorney who represents Robertson County Schools, and sent to the landowner’s legal counsel on Sept. 10. Pending any minor edits, the final contracts were returned to the district last week following the board meeting.Weeks added that based on the district’s last experience with a potential seller, the new contract has an agreement from the current seller to reimburse the district for reasonable out-of-pocket due diligence expense of up to $24,000 if they decide not to proceed with the purchase.“The last time we spent somewhere in the neighborhood of $27-28,000 for the core drillings, and it turned out we we’re unable to purchase that property. This seller has agreed to pay us up to $24,000, which probably wouldn’t cover all of our costs, but would cover a majority of those costs.”“If for some reason it didn’t meet our expectations, he said that he understands he will need that information if we don’t buy it,” Weeks said. “So, I thought that was a pretty good offer to help us be a mutual benefit to both teams.”The board initially approved a motion in May 2025 to begin architecture, site plans, preliminary budgets, and other early processes for a new White House Heritage Middle School and Springfield Middle School.Regarding the Heritage project, the board also approved funding for schematic designs for the Heritage Middle School.Following a recent planning session, Weeks contacted architects from Grace Design to get an approximate cost for elevation drawings, a basic floor plan, and all the programming that would go into such a facility.He was informed by Grace that their price to submit drawings, plus any required fees along with fees to real estate developer Hewlett Spencer, would be between $475,000 and $500,000.While this approval only covers schematic designs, Weeks explained that the next stage would require more technical design documentation drawings that are sent out for construction bids.“The schematic design would not exceed $500,000. The second set of drawings is about the same at $450,000,” he said. “So, to get design drawings out where they can go bid those and bring us back a guaranteed maximum price is less than $1 million.”The board further noted that these building plans can also be used for the design of the new Springfield Middle School.In addition to these two projects, the school board also approved a proposal from Trane for HVAC replacements at Greenbrier Middle School totaling roughly $5.4 million.The price also covers replacement of ceiling tiles as they are taken out to put the new HVAC system in, with the exception of the new school wing that was added in 2024.Greenbrier Middle has faced ongoing central air conditioning failures affecting several classrooms since the start of the school year. To provide temporary relief, the district has installed portable cooling units along with mobile air units.According to previous reporting from WSMV, the new permanent HVAC system is expected to take approximately six months to install, meaning it may not be fully operational until the next school year.Weeks stated that following preliminary conversations with Robertson County Finance Director Jody Stewart and Mayor Keith Hoover, the county hopes to cover the cost of the HVAC replacement, amid the district’s various other expensive projects.“They have recommended to us if we think we can take care of the Springfield land from our fund balance, which again will be $2.15 million, and the schematic drawings for White House Heritage, they would like us to bring the proposal for HVAC and ceilings to the county commission’s budget committee, and they would present that in hopes that a bond would be set.”</div></body>

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A number of major facility and construction projects overseen by Robertson County Schools passed significant steps last week from the board of education. The approvals included a potential land purchase for a new school in Springfield, new air conditioners at Greenbrier Middle, and preliminary designs for the new White House Heritage Middle School.

School board moves forward with multiple projects

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A number of major facility and construction projects overseen by Robertson County Schools passed significant steps last week from the board of education. T

School board moves forward with multiple projects

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