The County School Board on Thursday voted to move forward on $158 million for five major school projects, as well as hiring architects to examine other school building needs.
Projects, with the most recent cost estimate, are:
- Convert the first floor of the former BlueCross property on W. Ninth Street into the Gateway Future Ready Center ($15 million)
- Renovate and build an addition for Clifton Hills Elementary ($36 million)
- Renovate and build an addition for Soddy Daisy Middle School ($30 million)
- Consolidate Alpine Crest, Dupont and Rivermont elementary schools into a new 800-student school ($51 million)
- Renovate Brainerd to a 6-12 campus on the current site on North Moore Road by combining Dalewood Middle and Brainerd High ($36 million).
Supt. Justin Robertson said he wants to spend up to $100,000 to hire architects to give assessments on a number of other projects, including Normal Park, the second floor of Gateway, Center for Creative Arts, needed elementary space on Signal Mountain, options for Orchard Knob Middle School, moving Barger School to the Dalewood site, and renovating the existing Cigna building that is across the street from East Brainerd Elementary School.
Dr. Robertston said the building projects are not in an order of priority, but "we will be moving on all of them as quickly as we can."
The board will also begin to see resolutions dealing with specific maintenance projects based on $60 million of repairs from the bond issue.