Construction plans for new Ashley Elementary School advance, though cost remains concern

The Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Board of Education approved construction documents for a new Ashley Elementary School at a recent meeting so officials can start soliciting bids next month.

But if the cost for the project comes in higher than what the district can afford, the new school may need to be redesigned.

WS/FCS Senior Executive Director of Facility Planning and Construction Darrell Walker says under the current plans, Ashley will be larger than most standard elementary schools in the state. 

“With collaboration space, food pantries, clothes closets, community space, it's a premium," Walker said. "So right now, your new Ashley is 135,000 square feet. And I'm just going to be totally transparent, that's about 37,000 additional square footage at $300 a square foot is $11 million. It's real money.”

And Walker says the district’s only means of lowering costs would be to reduce square footage. 

Community members have been advocating for a new Ashley Elementary for nearly a decade. They’ve also specifically asked for the school to be a kind of “hub” of community resources for the East Winston area. 

Rev. Paul Ford spoke to the school board in support of the current construction plans. 

“The designs prepared by Walter Robbs represent a faithful rendering of what the community has asked for, and we believe that these goals can be fully achieved without overspending or over-building," Ford said. "What's needed is smart design.” 

Ford, and other speakers, also urged the district to award contracts to local, minority and women-owned businesses. Officials say that’s one of their goals as well. 

The bid process should take around a month. If construction begins in August as expected, the project is estimated to take about a year and a half to complete.

Amy Diaz covers education for WFDD in partnership with Report For America. You can follow her on Twitter at @amydiaze.