Cafeteria delayed
By Phyllis Moore
Published in News on August 19, 2015 1:46 PM
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News-Argus/STEVE HERRING
Part of the construction site at Charles B. Aycock High School is seen early today. Work on the school cafeteria is not complete and students will use the gymnasium for meals for the first few days of school, until the job is finished. Meals will be brought in from Norwayne Junior High.
Students at Charles B. Aycock High School expecting a new cafeteria when school starts Aug. 24 will have to wait a little while longer, officials say.
The school will open on schedule, but delays have forced the district to make other arrangements for breakfast and lunch during the first days of school.
The $6.6 million project to add 20 classrooms and expand the cafeteria was designed to relieve some of the overcrowding at the county's largest high school.
Over the last decade, enrollment has climbed upwards of 1,200 students. More than a dozen modular classrooms have offset some of the problem.
At lunchtime, though, it has been a different story.
High school students may appreciate the opportunity to socialize, but with four lunch periods, 1,200 students and a cafeteria that seats 300, the lack of space has become even more apparent.
The project to alleviate some of the congestion has been long anticipated.
And while no one expected the construction project to be completed in time for the first day of school, that had not been the case for the cafeteria.
"There were phases in this. The cafeteria and those areas were supposed to be done," Superintendent Mike Dunsmore said, explaining that the two-story classroom section and administrative area were not slated to be finished until later. "We knew that. The issue now is that the restrooms and the cafeteria, we're about a week and a half behind. The plan is the bathrooms are probably going to be ready that first week but we're going to bring in some portable (ones)."
Dunsmore said he had been assured that the cafeteria "would certainly be done the day after Labor Day."
In the meantime, other arrangements had to be made.
"Our plan now is we're going to transport the meals from Norwayne Middle School," he said.
The old gym at CBA will be used as a temporary cafeteria for the first week and a half of school.
With construction and renovation projects, he added, it is not uncommon to have delays and setbacks.
"I don't know whether this would have been ready on time or not. I wasn't involved with this project from the inception," he said. "The good news is it doesn't affect any of the classrooms."
Students will be able to attend classes without interruption, he said, with the "typical tweaking" only involving mealtimes.
Dunsmore is planning to be a presence at the school's open house to meet with parents and answer any questions or concerns.
Open house will be Wednesday from 5-7 p.m., with the parent meeting being held in the gymnasium at 5 p.m. School administrators are also expected to discuss the logistics of breakfast and lunch, and share information about ongoing renovations and construction projects at the school.
"We'll have all our menus for the cafeteria available," Dunsmore said, explaining that efforts will be made to accommodate students with restrictions or dietary concerns. "We just have to be a little flexible here in the first week."
The decision to attend open house at CBA may have been prompted by the construction delay but is actually in line with the new superintendent's ideas for indoctrinating himself to the district.
"One of my goals, I'm going to be more visible at the schools," he said.
As the school system develops its strategic plan, he said he hopes to introduce a "Superintendent's Council," comprised of parents and students.
"I think it's important that they be here, work together," he said. "Maybe once a marking period, sit down and list the good things, the bad things, give them an opportunity to speak with me."
It will not be a "gripe session," he pointed out, but an opportunity for stakeholders to be heard and represented.