Final facilities meeting Monday for Eastern Wayne parents
By Andrew Bell
Published in News on October 8, 2006 2:05 AM
The Wayne County Facilities Master Plan Team will hear from another group of residents and parents concerning school facilities needs Monday night at Eastern Wayne High School.
The forum, which begins at 6:30 p.m., is the last in a series of meetings sponsored by the Facilities Master Plan Team, which includes Board of Education members and school staff and Board of Commissioners members and county employees.
They will listen to suggestions and comments from concerned parents and residents who live in the Eastern Wayne High School feeder group area, which includes Eastern Wayne Elementary, Middle and High schools, Greenwood Middle School and Meadow Lane and Tommy's Road elementaries.
In addition, members of advisory councils from each of the schools in that area also will participate.
On Monday night, Sprunt Hill, Wayne County Public Schools assistant superintendent for auxiliary services, will explain how the schools' five-year facilities plan will benefit the Eastern Wayne feeder group schools and other aspects of the Evergreen Solutions facilities report.
County officials hired consultant Evergreen Solutions to study the county's school facilities needs.
At Eastern Wayne Middle School, the $90 million facilities plan, which could be funded through a bond referendum next May, would provide the school with about $6 million for new classrooms and to cover some demolition costs.
Hill said the middle school would get additional classrooms, but a number hasn't been determined.
"We wanted to put as many as we could," Hill said.
The classrooms would tie into the eight classrooms constructed with money from the 1996 state school facilities bond. The demolition and construction would also provide administration offices at the school, Hill said.
The only other school in the Eastern Wayne feeder area slated for improvement through the facilities plan is Greenwood Middle School. The school could receive about $1 million for build four new classrooms and to renovate faculty restrooms.
Four classrooms adjacent to the middle school's annex building also will be replaced, Hill said.
After the introduction by Wayne Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Steven Taylor and Hill's presentation, team members will field questions from the schools' advisory councils' members. Then, parents and concerned citizens can voice their opinions to the facilities master team, but board members won't respond. Any suggestions made will be considered for changes to the five-year facilities plan.
The previous meetings were held at Charles B. Aycock, Spring Creek, Goldsboro, Rosewood and Southern Wayne high schools. During those meetings, the public has provided its input on redrawing district lines, racial diversity at the county schools, facilities' needs and the education of county students.
Following Monday night's meeting, three committees formed by the Master Plan Team, consisting of the educational process, facilities and real estate and finance committees, will collect data and make presentations to the master plan team for completing the schools' facilities needs in the next five years and beyond.