Cloudy skies this evening followed by thunderstorms late. Heavy and torrential downpours at times. Low 68F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 90%..

Cloudy skies this evening followed by thunderstorms late. Heavy and torrential downpours at times. Low 68F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 90%.

ZMM Architects hold a presentation about progress updates to school facilities during the Raleigh County Schools Board of Education Meeting Tuesday in Beckley. Jenny Harnish/The Register-Herald

ZMM Architects hold a presentation about progress updates to school facilities during the Raleigh County Schools Board of Education Meeting Tuesday in Beckley. Jenny Harnish/The Register-Herald

Raleigh County Board of Education members were given updates to several school building projects during their regular meeting Tuesday night.

Architects with ZMM Architects & Engineering gave updates on projects at Shady Spring Elementary School, Woodrow Wilson High School, Park Middle School and Stratton Elementary School.

Randy Jones, an architect with ZMM, said construction on the new access road for parents to drop off and pick up students at Shady Spring Elementary is “substantially complete.”

“I drove it this afternoon before the board meeting,” Jones said. “It’s a nice drive. I think parents will appreciate that kind of unwinding period while they’re waiting for parent pick-up ... It should be a great start to school. Should be a huge improvement with traffic flow.”

He added that there are still some “transitional areas that need to be addressed” as well as rocks on site that need to be removed by the contractor.

Raleigh County Schools Superintendent David Price has previously stated that the new access road at the elementary school was necessary to keep cars off the highway during drop-off and pick-up times.

As part of a second wave of improvements at Shady Spring, Jones also discussed plans for new classrooms, a kitchen upgrade, a “Safe School” entrance and a new gymnasium.

Jones said the project had to be scaled back some and rebid after coming in “way, way” over budget.

Unfortunately, Jones said ZMM is seeing this same issue arise with other projects they are working on.

As part of the scaled-back designs, Jones said they will not be adding as many new classrooms and will instead be converting some underutilized space in the school into classrooms.

“We went through the numbers and we thought we could reduce the addition by two classrooms and then also incorporate the new STEM lab and art room within the existing buildings,” he said. “I think it's more appropriately sized to the enrollment that's out there now and it still leaves enough room for growth.”

Jones said the project should be ready to rebid in the next two weeks.

Five phases of renovation were discussed for Woodrow Wilson High.

Jones said the first phase involves upgrades to the science labs, which is being handled by another firm.

He added that they are working with the firm to coordinate phase two, which is the installation of new windows.

Jones said contractors are working on making improvements to the window frames in preparation for the new window installations.

However, he said those windows will not arrive until November.

“The good news is the windows can be installed from the exterior, so we won't have to worry about going into the classrooms,” Jones said.

Phase three will include improvement to the school’s water system, “which is basically a new water line through the entire campus,” Jones said.

He said that project is ready to be put out to bid as soon as they receive an approval letter for their plans from Beckley Water.

Providing updates for phase four and five was David Ferguson, an architect with ZMM.

Ferguson said phase four will include renovations to the school’s entrance, including the addition of a “safe school” entrance and upgrades to the administration and counseling areas.

Phase five will include renovations to the gymnasium and tennis courts.

Plans at Park Middle School include the demolition of the school’s gym, which will then be rebuilt on the opposite side of the school.

The gym at Park Middle was initially closed at the end of the 2020-2021 academic year due to structural problems and has remained closed ever since.

Ferguson said they are working on getting the demolition drawings ready as well as plans for how that area will be converted into a parking lot for the school.

For the new gym, Ferguson said they are conducting surveys to ensure that it fits within the existing school property.

It is estimated that this project will cost $9.5 million.

Raleigh Schools received a grant of $1 million from the West Virginia School Building Authority for this project. The remainder of the funds will come from local school funds.

Upgrades to the second-floor innovation CTE lab are also planned for Park Middle.

Construction of the new Stratton Elementary is moving forward despite delays getting some material in, Ferguson said.

“We've had some issues with the delay (in) getting materials off and on throughout the process ... every day it seems like there’s always something come up,” he said. “We're trying to work through those issues as we go and keep the contractor on task.”

The new school is estimated to cost $20 million and is expected to be open at the start of the 2023 school year.

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