Some Richmond County schools this year might seem more like construction zones -- the result of about a dozen school improvement projects under way.
Officials say it's all part of the third phase of a building program that's packed with $190 million worth of improvements and should be mostly finished by the end of next year.
All told, the latest 1-cent sales tax program -- which began collections in 2007 and ends in 2012 -- addresses about 30 school projects.
Eight are complete, including a new Pine Hill Middle that opened this school year.
"The program's going very well," said Jeff Baker of Hanscomb GMK, a firm assisting with the work. "Projects are getting completed in a timely fashion and within the budget."
Among the larger projects under construction are a new track and International Baccalaureate wing at the Academy of Richmond County.
Principal Tim Spivey said the wing could be finished by June. It will include an orchestra, band, choral and art room, along with a recording studio, a couple of science classrooms and a math classroom.
"It's going to be a pretty big outfit," he said.
Demolition of the school's gym is scheduled to begin this week, with home-side bleachers being replaced and concessions and locker rooms being remodeled.
"It's kind of a face-lift over there," he said.
The new track at Richmond Academy is behind schedule, partly because of weather, but should be finished by July, he said.
Baker said other prominent projects under construction include a new Garrett Elementary being built off Eisenhower Drive (February 2011 completion), renovations and additions to National Hills Elementary (December completion), and similar work to East Augusta Middle School (August completion).
A planned move of the school system's alternative center from Bungalow Road to a renovated Tubman Middle has been delayed.
Baker said originally the hope was to have the alternative center moved to Tubman next school year, but it will now occur in the 2011-12 school year.
Hains Elementary, which is having a new school designed, was scheduled to move into the Bungalow Road site next school year while its new facility was built. It will now wait an extra year, which Baker said will allow more time for the design phase.
As for the overall sales tax program, Baker said that once the third phase ends another phase would be needed.
"There are still projects and definitely still needs," he said.
The sales tax for such work has been collected since 1996 in Richmond County, and board attorney Pete Fletcher said it typically gains support from voters. The next one will be on the ballot in 2012, and Fletcher said surveys of school needs will occur next year.
"When we look at the needs, we do try to make sure every area of the county gets improvements," Fletcher said.
The RCBOE needs to get rid of some of the vacant schools that have been closed down for years....Auction them off and put them back on the tax rolls..
ie:
A.C. Greggs (vacant 4 years)
Hornsby (vacant 3 years)
Sandhills (vacant 2 years)
Sue Reynolds (vacant over 5 years)
Davidson (vacant over 12 years)
my 2 cents
Another RCBOE property that could be sold at auction:
Move all of the supplies/inventory at the 15th Street Warehouse to the new Area 56 Transportation/Supply/Maint. Site and sell the 15th Street property.
The RCBOE needs to shed its excess property....my 2 cents
DAMY- they've tried, nobody wants them. They all have significant problems for any business that would want to purchase them.
Location, location, location, plus they were built at a time when little or no parking was needed- the lots are too small to do much of anything with. The renovation costs would be enormous. Those big ol' schools that were built back in the 30's when energy was cheap, are now too expensive to run and maintain. They are full of lead paint and asbestos, and they would cost a fortune to tear down.
Cities across the nation are faced with this headache.
It still boggles my mind that National Hills Elementary is not shut down and merged into Garrett. It's all politics and a complete waste of taxpayer's money. The teachers at NHills and the surrounding neighborhood will disagree with my comment; however, it cannot be denied that "favors were owed" several years back when Dr. Bedden first arrived and began cutting the fat. If everyone will look back a few years, merging Forest Hills El and Lake Forest El was not a popular decision with the neighborhoods, but it's worked out very well.
Lower the price and call the Boardmans. Many of those schools could be converted into great condos.
If the old vacant buildings are full of asbestos and lead base paint put them up for auction and let them go to the highest bidder. The bottom line should be to get rid of them. BTW, vandals have broken half of the windows out of A.C. Greggs..
DAMY46..... Clay Boardman wants to purchase the old Davidson school. It's going to be new residential.. He's been looking at the property..
Out of the other four old schools. I think Sue Reynolds could be sold quickly. The schools sits on wrightsboro road between Belair road and Jimmie Dyess. A perfect location for any business or residential. Wrightsboro is going to be widen from I-520 to Jimmie Dyess. Which makes the property even more attractive to potential buyers.
Martha Lester school is being renovated into commerical/residential this year. The school is older than all these schools.
That's great news to hear about Richmond. The school has been severely overcrowded for years. I'm glad they're building a International Baccalaureate wing. ARC has one of the best IB programs in the nation.
They're still building new homes/subdivisons everyday off Belair road, Jimmie Dyess, and Gordon hwy between Jimmie Dyess and Columbia county. All these kids attend Richmond.
Outer South Augusta,(which is between tobacco rd and the Hephzibah and Blythe city limits) Hephzibah, Blythe, Mcbean, and South Richmond. That's where all the empty land is. Expect to see nothing but middle class housing and up. Pine Hill middle just opened August 2009. Two high schools Cross Creek and Hephzibah can't support all these kids for long. Especially when they keep building new housing.
I just hope that if they decide to sell property, it is advertised outside of the CSRA. What I find amazing is that no mention is made as to what we are paying for contract administration and management? I noticed the words "assisting with paperwork" were used to reference Hanscomb GMK. Just what does that mean? Where is everything laid out in a budget we could all review for expenditures? Sorry, only a roll-up figure showing total cost is available from our elected officials. We are a sad community when it comes to demanding answers about where millions are spent, but we will go crazy if a little old lady is getting a couple of hundred dollars on welfare.
We keep on building stadiums and gyms and then cut out any real kind of PE!!!!!!!!! But the real kicker is this...we build stadiums and gyms and encourage people to play and come watch the games BUT the security has to be so heavy to prevent shoot outs and riots. There is something wrong with that picture.
Sounds like the students may be a bunch of ungrateful punks who don't need to be even near a school let alone being a student. I thought stadiums and gyms and school remodleing was for people who appreciated the free education they were getting.
DAMY46....have you seen the size of the property being developed on hwy 56? You would think BOE has a million buses. That place is big enough to move EVERYTHING BOE out there and still have room for expansion.
If the BOE can develop this property, which is in a swamp, why can't more things be built out here? Like Deke's new stadium. Someone in local gummit stands to make a fortune over that proposed stadium (we don't need). I wonder who it is.
marvincates,
They are going to move the Transportation Dept. to the 56 site along with some city buses. They are also going to move the Maint. Supply warehouse out there.
Marvin, that property will house both the BOE's transportation department and Augusta Transit.
Do you have any idea how many buses the BCBOE has? It is a lot and it does require a large space to house them and the maintenance facilities for them. They are doing the right thing. 56 is not valuable property and is probably very affordable and accessible compared to others in the area.
Jam, I think it's roughly about 200 buses. Also, the company that owned the property on 56 had filed bankruptcy, so the land was cheaper than it would have been otherwise.
I have to agree with Avidreader about merging National Hills and the new Garrett. It would have made much more sense to build Garrett bigger, especially the gym is already in place next door. It is a waste to have the second school only a few blocks away with the expense of the additional staff and management there. It was political favors and union pressure to keep both schools open when there is no reason for it.
The last time I checked Georgia doesn't have unions. However, there was a little thing called an election in which the voters decided they wanted both a Garrett and a National Hills.
Hey, why do you think those schools were abandoned in the first place? Because they are now convenient to nothing or have significant problems. A lot of the schools were built before current flood plain maps were drawn, and they are now unsuitable for residential living. Their grade isn't right, they have drainage problems, and worst of all, no parking.
I'm sure Clay Boardman loves to have Countyman discussing his personal, confidential business on here. I am laughing at this.
the school board needs to follow the lead of other school districts that are suffering declining enrollment....CLOSE SOME SCHOOLS....oh i forgot then that would mean a loss of a seat (or seats) on the school board...oh dear me we can't have that and possibly save the poor taxpayers some money....keep failing and nearly vacant schools open all for the sake of maintaining power and wasting taxpayer dollars.....
The Augusta Chronicle ©2012. All Rights Reserved.
Back 
