Release: IMMEDIATE Date: 5/20/19
Contact: Valerie Flanagan, Clay County Government Phone: 828 389 0089
Hayesville, N.C. – On May 20, 2019, the official groundbreaking ceremony for the new Hayesville Primary School took place at the old high school ballfield where it will be constructed over the next 15 months. The school will be comprised of 24 general classrooms for a core of 383 students, and include a computer lab, a music classroom, an art classroom, three resource rooms as well as a two-classroom day-care facility. It will also include a gymnasium with seating for 138 spectators on bleachers. There will be space for a full administration to serve the school as well as a cafeteria/kitchen with the capacity to serve up to 383 students at a time.
Chairman of the Board of Commissioners, Dr. Rob Peck, indicated that the total cost for the project is expected to come to close to $14 million with $10,212,000 having been received from the North Carolina State Lottery Fund. “Nearly half of the eligible Tier One counties applied for the funding with requests totaling $230 million. With only $30m available from the Lottery Fund, Clay County received over a third of this.”
During the ceremony, Dr. Peck thanked members of both the Board of Commissioners and Clay County School Board, past and present, the previous School Superintendent, Mark Leek, as well as the County Manager, Mark Pullium. Dr. Peck said, “The primary school project began as a vision for the future over ten years ago and, in the end, it was the result of the persistence and hard work of County officials who had not wavered in their determination to make the school a reality.” He also acknowledged the recent efforts of the many County staff and executive team members who had labored over the financing and contracting process, which had taken months to complete due to the rigorous review process mandated by the Local Government Commission. He was particularly appreciative of County Attorney, Merinda Woody, who had spent many long and valuable hours ensuring that there were no hiccups in the process.
Acting School Superintendent, Scott Penland, who is also a member of the Board of Commissioners, thanked the architects and contractors for their thorough work in ensuring that they had the best school possible for the community’s young people. He said, “the Clay County School administration will ensure that the builders are able to do their work as expediently as possible. We are confident that traffic complications will be minimal for parents and students commuting to and from school. Routes have been established to allow for delivery of building materials, which will not get in the way of normal driving patterns.” He indicated that it was their hope that the school will be completed by September 2020, but possibly sooner if work can go more quickly than planned. “This would be exciting for the primary school students and teachers who are looking forward to moving to their new facilities.”
The contract for the construction of the school was awarded to Wells and West of Murphy, North Carolina. Chuck West said, “we are excited to get going on this project and believe that the school will not only benefit the community’s young people and their quality of education, but will also help to create numerous jobs for local people. The work will also contribute to more money coming into the local economy, which is good for businesses based in the County.”
Boomerang Design will be the overall managers of the construction project and will ensure that the quality and standards are met by the builders. Stan Anthony said, “we are proud to have been involved with such a dedicated community and local government. We are excited about the start of the building work and we look forward to our continued association with the County.”