Horry County Board of Education approves $50,000 message boards for seven high schools

Seven Horry County high schools will get new $50,000 LED message boards in the coming year, and Conway Middle School will gain 11 new paved parking spaces.

The Horry County Board of Education unanimously approved the $350,000 total message board expense Monday night during a regular board meeting, citing the need for a more modern information display outside of the schools.

The signs will be implemented at Aynor, Carolina Forest, St. James and Loris high schools and The Academy for Arts, Science & Technology and The Academy for Technology & Academics.

“The boards are an easy way to communicate to parents and students about the activities and events of the school,” said Joe DeFeo, board chairman.

Many area businesses, including the Horry County Schools district office, use digital message boards to display news and event information. In recent years the zoning codes on these displays have become more relaxed as technology has improved and the demand for LED signs increased.

The HCS facilities committee discussed implementing these signs in early March and presented their suggestion to the board at its regular board meeting last month.

Because of the high dollar amount, the work for the signs would fall under the district’s procurement code, Mark Wolfe, HCS project manager, said. The district would have to establish a request for solicitations where companies can bid on the work, which could take a little time, Wolfe said. The board hopes all the signs will be in place by the beginning of the 2015-16 school year.

“We would have to merge it into the schedule for facilities, but we would want it to be done as soon as possible,” said Neil James, district 10.

The estimated project cost for the four high schools and two academies is $350,000, including a repair or replacement of Socastee High’s digital sign. The money will come out of the district’s general fund, according to John Gardner, chief financial officer.

The costs are non-recurring, but providing LED signs will equalize the message boards between all area high schools, since Conway, Myrtle Beach and North Myrtle Beach high schools already use digital message boards, according to district officials.

Scholars Academy and Early College High School are not considered as they are located on the campuses of Coastal Carolina University and HGTC.

The School Board members also unanimously approved $50,000 to pave 11 parking spaces in front of Conway Middle School, but must wait for the city of Conway to agree to a legal addendum removing the district from any harm that could happen during work.

“If there was some type of traffic accident, I’d hate to be carrying the liability as the school district,” said John Poston, District 8.

Conway city leaders approached the district about paving 11 parking spaces in front of Conway Middle School in early March. The grassy space, which is within the city’s public right-of-way, is often used for impromptu parking and as such gets worn down, said Mark Wolfe, HCS project manager. Conway is requesting HCS add 11 paved parallel parking spaces along Laurel Street including curb and gutter, sidewalks, and a trench drain system for intercepting water weeping from the historical wall.

DeFeo said that though the district hadn’t originally planned to pave those areas, the upgrade will benefit the entire area around the school.

“It’ll improve the area of our schools and the safety of the children walking those areas,” he said.

The paving of these parking spaces was not included in the original project funds, so the $50,000 will come out of the short-term facility plan, Wolfe said. Conway city officials were asked if they could bear 50 percent of the costs, but said they did not have available funding.

This story was originally published April 13, 2015 at 9:09 PM with the headline "Horry County Board of Education approves $50,000 message boards for seven high schools."