GUILFORD COUNTY, N.C. — We've been talking about the nearly 2-billion-dollar bond and how it is paving the way to build new Guilford County Schools (GCS).
We even took a look inside at the new designs and what it takes to construct a brand-new school.
But what about the older schools left with problems needing to be fixed?
Bond money is also being used to make much-needed repairs.
Picture this: your home is 20-30 years old and at this point, it's time for needed repairs. You're going to need to replace the HVAC, and fix pipes, the roof, and windows, and the longer you wait, the more expensive it will be.
This is exactly what GCS is dealing with on a much bigger scale.
"As you can imagine a school district that has over 126 schools and 12 million square feet, it is very difficult to have that size of a funding budget just for our operations and our capital," Deputy Superintendent of Business and Operations, Dr. Julius Monk said.
Without the right upkeep, it has created a lot of problems over the last few years.
"Unfortunately, two years ago, I came back from the summer and the ceiling had come down on all my belongings," GCS teacher David Rogers, Jr. said.
The longer the maintenance was delayed, the more money went down the drain.
Katrinka Brown, Principal at Northeast Guilford High School, said that there is a leakage coming from the HVAC unit and eventually the pipes will get closed on the roof.
"It costs us not only from the capital side but also for the utility cost, each year has continued to rise because our equipment is not running as efficiently as it should," Monk said.
Crews have the money to get to work. Of the 1.7 billion dollar bond going to GCS, 500 million dollars is for deferred maintenance.
The district reprioritized the projects needing work first focusing on three categories:
Site and building systems, which cover HVAC, roofing, and paving projects.
Safety and security, like cameras, intrusion, and fire alarms.
Technology, like intercoms, telephones, and audio/visual systems for classrooms.
36 school projects and two administrative projects are included in this first phase.
One of the schools on that priority list -- Northeast Guilford High School, with a 5.9 million dollar HVAC repair.
"This is the prime time when the heat is kicking in. When you add about 30 bodies to a room, it becomes extremely unbearable," Brown said.
She says the HVAC has caused additional problems besides no cool air.
"The [dripping] is from our HVAC, which is concerning of course when we you have electrical panels in the same room," Brown added.
While the dripping issues keep filling buckets, maintenance crews are already at work. The goal is to finish maintenance work at the priority schools in six years.
"Our school is very old so just seeing the updates that are already occurring is exciting," Brown said.
The work is being done to get these schools up and running in time for the start of school.
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