Horry County Schools may spend $3M more on new schools

Horry County Schools may spend up to $3 million more on the construction of five new area schools.

The district may need to hire several more project managers to oversee the schools’ construction because facilities staff is overburdened by current construction projects, said Mark Wolfe, executive director of facilities.

The renovations at Myrtle Beach High and North Myrtle Beach Middle schools – as well as other projects – has left the current four project managers without enough time to oversee the new school construction.

“Due to the magnitude of the projects, combined with the accelerated schedule, it does not allow my staff to have the manpower to oversee it correctly,” Wolfe said.

The district is building five new schools: Carolina Forest, Myrtle Beach, Socastee and St. James middle schools; and Socastee Elementary School. All five schools are expected to open by August 2017.

The cost to build the five new schools by First Floor Energy Positive – a firm based in Raleigh, N.C. – is $220.6 million, but emergency and work funds brings the total up to $240.3 million, according to documents from the district. The new figure comes from including “owner’s contingency” costs and estimated off-site work costs, which must be factored into the final price.

The district’s facilities committee met Monday to discuss the need for construction managers but tabled the discussion until more information is presented.

Wolfe suggested hiring an outside firm – with experience in managing projects of this size – at an estimated expense of $1.5 million to $3 million. Neil James, facilities chairman and board of education member, suggested just hiring permanent staff to save money.

“I think, on an annual basis, that would be a lot less than we would spend in the next few years,” James said.

Wolfe said the district needs one construction manager per project because the school projects are so large. He advised against hiring freelance managers because the accelerated time frame and high-performance criteria is unique.

“Due to the increase in construction around the area, the workforce does not appear to be available for seasoned project managers that can hit the ground running,” Wolfe said.

Holly Heniford, committee and board of education member, said she’s hesitant to support spending another several million dollars on the new schools.

“It’s a lot of money just for oversight, when you have people who are already going to be looking at this project,” Heniford said.

Heniford said hiring more district staff could be a better solution, especially given the possible savings.

“I can appreciate another staff person looking over it, I just don’t think we need a whole firm,” she said. “I’m not convinced that’s a good enough reason to spend $3 million - that’s a lot of money.”

The district has a job listing posted for a project manager, and the committee tabled the discussion until Wolfe measures the quality and quantity of applicants. If enough qualified people apply, the district will have a better idea of how many managers are needed, James said.

The committee will take up the discussion at its next meeting in 2016.

This story was originally published December 19, 2015 at 1:00 AM with the headline "Horry County Schools may spend $3M more on new schools."