GREENSBORO, N.C. — Grimsley High School parents said they still have questions after architects recommended building the new Kiser Middle School on the baseball and softball fields at Grimsley High School.
At a Guilford County Board of Education retreat Saturday, architects presented four options for Kiser Middle School but said the location on the Grimsley High School fields was the only feasible option. Construction is set to begin in the summer of 2022 and officials said new fields would potentially not be finished until 2025.
GCS officials said they are working on a shared-use agreement with the Greensboro Parks and Recreation department but have not nailed down the details.
“For the Grimsley community, the questions range everywhere from where will our athletes practice and play? They did mention they are working on a plan but there is no plans set in stone. How will the kids get there? There is no transportation that has been set in stone as of now,” said Brandy Adams, a Grimsley parent and president of the athletics booster club. “When this does start, what happens to the scoreboards here on campus? Are they stored? Who takes them down? Where is all the stuff going to be stored and most importantly when are they (going to) sign a contract with an architect in order to start the job.”
Adams said she was asked by Board of Education committee members to form a small committee to work with them about the potential demolition of the fields. She said they were never involved.
Architects said Saturday there was space to put new fields where Brooks Global Studies Magnet School currently stands. It is being torn down and rebuilt on the site of Craven Elementary School. However, architects would still need to be hired to design the fields and the board would need to allocate money for the new fields as well.
“At the end of the day, (what) the architects did share (on Saturday) is just spacing as it relates to actual property,” said Adams. “It was just shapes on a piece of paper really, to be honest. We have no idea what those rectangles and boxes and triangles really are going to look like.”
Adams said she is talking with Board of Education members to set up a meeting and there will be a rally held at the fields on April 9 from 2-4 p.m.
“We’re still worried,” Adams said. “We are still not 100% on board because the same questions that we had on Saturday we still have today.”
The plan to rebuild Kiser Middle School is part of a larger effort to rebuild eight Guilford County Schools with a $300 million bond passed by voters in 2020. Voters will decide in May on another $1.7 billion bond for more school improvements.