Commissioners to Vote on School Funding

The Orange County Board of Commissioners will vote tonight on a proposal to allocate November 2001 bonds for the construction of Meadowmont Elementary School No. 9, giving East West Partners the go-ahead in progressing toward the August 2003 construction deadline.

The school will be located in the 435-acre Meadowmont development off N.C. 54 and will create room for an additional 600 students in Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools.

At tonight's meeting, commissioners will decide whether to allocate $12.8 million of a bond package passed in November to the construction of the Meadowmont school.

County Commissioner Barry Jacobs said the construction of the school needs to happen soon because it is set to open in August 2003.

"We are at the point where construction is imminent," Jacobs said. "The developers are working on an expedited schedule, and we just need to hear that before we say go."

Steve Scroggs, assistant superintendent for support services, said the new school will lift a large burden from Orange County schools. "The facility holds 600 kids, and we expect 200 to come from Meadowmont."

Scroggs said the only concern is that the school won't be ready for the 2003-04 school year. He said he anticipates that the commissioners will approve the proposal.

"I don't think we'll have any trouble getting the bond money," he said. "It's something the voters voted for."

The project is in the construction and design stage, and the last step will be to reconcile the cost of the project with budget expenditures.

The entire project will cost about $14 million because of a decision to add a gymnasium instead of a multipurpose room, the costs of which will be covered by the town of Chapel Hill.

In addition, East West Partners will construct playing fields that will run adjacent to the park facilities. Such extra costs will not be included in the allocated bond money and will be covered by the developers.

The gymnasium upgrade will cost the town $750,000, and the playing fields will cost the developers $824,052.

The original plans for Meadowmont, designed by East West Partners, included a site for the school. The site was then considered by the town for the facility's construction.

Jim Riley, the projects coordinator for East West Partners, said the board's decision is one of the last steps needed for both the construction of the school and the completion of Meadowmont.

"(The school) is one of the last pieces of the puzzle for Meadowmont."

The City Editor can be reached

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