The Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Board of Education is holding a special meeting Wednesday to discuss immediate facility needs. Some of the new board members visit two schools in the district to assess the need.
Six new school board members were elected in November. Before Wednesday's public meeting, they will get a chance to tour Konnoak Elementary and Lowrance Middle School.
Both schools were built in the 1950's and are in need of major renovations, including new heating and air conditioning and ventilation systems. Theo Helm, chief of staff with Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools, says one option may be starting over with new buildings.
“We have continued to look at ways to fund these projects outside of the normal bond cycle, so we can get them done faster,” says Helm. “It's at the point now, with both of those schools, with those older buildings, it makes more sense to demolish the old structure and build a new building in place of the old one.”
Helm says Konnoak Elementary and Lowrance Middle School were left out of a $250-million bond referendum in 2006 because of more pressing needs at other schools. Now they're at the top of the list.
He says school administrators and board members will also discuss what kind of conversations they want to have with county commissioners to help find funding options for these public schools.
Follow Keri Brown on Twitter @kerib_news
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