School District Approves Plan Study That Recommends Relocate Northwest Middle School
On April 26th the School District of Greenville County approved a motion from the school board's Committee of the Whole which would either demolish Northwest Middle School and rebuild the school at another location.
The recommendation came from an April 22nd Select Facilities Study. The study is a part of the school board's commitment that schools which were not "modernized" during their building surge from several years ago would be brought up to high quality standards. The study's recommendations were presented in a 57 page capital update plan. Modernizations probably will not started until the 2028 fiscal year when bonds from prior building surge will be paid off.
Producing the study now allows the school board the school district time to aquire land, place revenue streams and be transparent to school communities.
Select facilities in the study included: (listed from from their ranking from poorest to best) Northwest Middle School, Donaldson Career Center, West Greenville Elementary, Bryson Middle School, Alexander Elementary, Hughes Middle School, Welcome Elementary, Crestview Elementary, Golden Strip Career Center, J. Harley Bond Career Center, Enoree Career Center, Overbrook Child Development, Greenview Child Development and Woodmont Middle School. Schools recommended for replacement are listed from worst to best: Northwest Middle School, Donaldson Career Center, West Greenville Elementary, and Bryson Middle School. Details concerning those schools are presented below:
Northwest Middle School - Due to the design and configuration of the school modernization options were not proposed. The study concluded it would be more cost effective to replace the entire school on a new land site rather than attempt to make the school like new. The school received the following grades with 10 being the highest and 1 being the lowest, Architecture 4; Site and Building 4; Structural 7; Mechanical 3; Electrical 6; Plumbing 3; Building/Fire Code Compliance 3; Passive and Active Security 5; Material Life Expectancy 6; Environment Quality 5; Accessibility 4; Acoustics/Lighting 6. The school received an overall grade of 4.67. Two options were given to the school board, (1) Replace the entire facility on a new site or (2) Raze the school and rebuild it on a different part of the current campus. The study recommended option 1.
Donandson Career Center - The campus is difficult to secure and circulation is awkward due to separate buildings. Space deficiencies limit several programs.
West Grenville Elementary - Architecture of the original building is out of date and low roof heights limit options. Option recommendation is to replace the school with a modern compact building on a new site.
Bryson Middle School - Over twenty classrooms are too small as well as most labs. Equipment is obsolete. By 2028 the oldest buildings will be 74 years old. Recommendation is to convert Fountain Inn Elementary to a PK-8 school and relocate Bryson Middle to a new campus. This would provide crowing relief to Woodmont and Hillcrest Middle Schools.
Hughes Middle School - Built as three separate buildings in 1956. A 2001 addition connected the buildings. Recommendation is to raze and rebuild older wings of the school to prototype standards.
Welcome Elementary School - Raze and replace the oldest section of the structure. Replace the razed section and add 12,000 square feet.
Alexander Elementary - Recommendation is to consolidate Alexander into adjacent schools, create additions at receiving schools as needed and repurpose the existing Alexander structure. Adjacent schools include Westcliffe Elementary, Hollis Elementary and Monaview Elementary.
Golden Strip Career Center - Raze and rebuild to standards.
J. Harley Bonds Technology Centers - Recommendation is to replace the culinary wing.
Enoree Career Center - Demolish older buildings and reconstruct on existing site.
Projected costs for the entire plan are $601,601,410. Projected costs for a new Northwest Middle School are $77,045,541.
Presented below is a copy of the Select Facilities Study