Commissioner Rob Zapple asked for more details about Brogden Hall’s structural issues -- Leanne Lawrence, the school district’s director of facility planning and construction, said a lack of supporting soil beneath the concrete floor is a major culprit.
Under the current plan, construction will go through the 2021-2022 school year -- and New Hanover High School students will use what Lawrence called the “Princess Place Gymnasium,” which will receive improvements to its air conditioning unit.
Commissioner Jonathan Barfield asked whether short-term improvements will be effective for the gym in the long run: “My question is, I know we’ve replaced the floor a number of times, is there a reason why this deficiency wasn’t discovered before? I know that takes a good amount of money to replace the wood floor there and just don't want to be spending throwing good money after bad when we can nip things in the bud so to speak?"
Lawrence assured the board that she and her team will work to not just address current problems, but to also prevent damage in the future.
“There’s a great deal of effort invested and time invested to really study foundational root issues...rather than just go in and replace the floor as has been done in the past to really search out what is causing the problem," Lawrence said.
The board voted to unanimously approve the budget amendment to complete the project.
Editor's note: Commissioner Rob Zapple is a member of the WHQR Board of Directors; the board is not involved in any editorial decisions.
