York SB Approves Plan to Lease Classroom Unit for Dare

By Amber Lester Kennedy Tuesday, October 04, 2011

The York School Board approved a plan to lease this classroom unit for the Dare Elementary campus.

It will take six to eight weeks to move the unit, currently located in North Carolina, and connect it to electricity, water and sewage lines, fire alarms and network systems. The unit has eight classrooms, an interior hallway and bathroom facilities. It will cost $256,598 to lease the unit, but there will be additional costs associated with preparing it for use once it arrives.

Construction was already behind on an extensive renovation project at Dare Elementary when Hurricane Irene hit the Peninsula. The school division has said the contractor didn’t secure the building’s construction areas and as a result, the school suffered water and wind damage. The school division asked Marine Chemist to compile a remediation report to determine what steps must be taken to address the water damage. Soon after, the contractor hired a different company to conduct an assessment. The contractor has told York County Schools that they will receive their final remediation plan this week. York County requested the conrtractor submit a schedule of completion, with a timeline, by Monday.

In the meantime, K-3 students are attending classes in the gym and at the EXTEND Center on the Dare campus. Fourth and fifth grade students are attending Bethel Manor Elementary, students in the Primary Enrichment Program are going to Mt. Vernon Elementary and the EXTEND Center is temporarily housed at Coventry Elementary.

At Monday’s special meeting, the board members approved the plan, but expressed disappointment they had no other options. “I still wish we could have other locations within the division to put these kids,” said Robert George. “But I understand the merit of keeping the kids together.”

Member Barbara Haywood said this situation was a first, and was the worst situation the school division had endured since asbestos removal projects two decades ago. Page Minter likened the situation to a train wreck, “and now we have to put the train back on the tracks.”

“We, as a board and as a community, would like it fixed today,” he said. “But the legal aspects, between reading contracts and meeting with lawyers … it takes time to sort that out and you really can’t hurry.”

The board will receive a more detailed update on how the unit will be used at its work session at 6 p.m. Monday in the East Room at York Hall. Follow updates on Dare Elementary here.