Cost estimates for new Horry County Schools building keep increasing, here’s why
The price of Horry County Schools’ latest construction project keeps increasing before the work has even started.
School board members learned last week that the $13 million they budgeted for a new alternative school building wouldn’t be enough, even as district staff considered cost-cutting measures including eliminating the kitchen and creating a separate, detached physical education structure.
Several board members voiced their displeasure with the price tag and cuts, so facilities staff detailed three potential plans during Monday’s board work session that included the kitchen, though the costs ranged from $15.5 million to $16.4 million. The lowest option has 23 classrooms but no gymnasium and the high adds the stand-alone gym with 27 classrooms.
The Horry County Education Center, which has been operating since 2002 out of the former Kingston Elementary building off S.C. 905 in Conway, is the lone school currently approved for a new building after the board adopted a “pay-as-you-go” model to avoid raising taxes until the penny sales tax sunsets in 2024.
The new school building, which temporarily houses students with disciplinary infractions, is planned for a lot adjacent west of the district’s offices on Four Mile Road in Conway.
Board members discussed all the different options at length Monday and appeared to agree that the new building needs at least 27 classrooms and that gym should be part of the main structure, which staff estimated would cost an additional $250,000.
The one question mark still being debated by the end of the discussion is whether to add an additional five classrooms, which staff estimated could increase costs up to $1.2 million depending upon the size of the rooms. The addition would potentially bring the total project cost up to $17.85 million.
Board member Neil James noted that 27 classes would be more than enough capacity for the amount of students the center currently holds, while fellow board member Russell Freeman pointed out that the teachers also need to be considered.
Attendance at the center varies daily — there were 324 students there as of last week — with the average length of stay being six to eight weeks per student, according to school spokeswoman Lisa Bourcier.
Jimmy McCullough, the center’s principal, told board members that the school currently employs 31 teachers.
School board president Ken Richardson concluded the discussion by asking staff to come back next meeting, scheduled for Feb. 17, with two building plans — one with 27 classes and another with 32 — and noted that the board should be prepared to vote to move forward with one.
The new building is projected to be complete in time for students and staff to move in at the start of the 2021-2022 school year.
