The roof took precedence once again and, as with a meeting two nights earlier, the Clinton City Board of Education was not comfortable making a decision until all estimates on the cost of roofing — and possibly air conditioning — the Sunset Avenue School gym could be nailed down.

Meeting Thursday night in a work session, school board members got embroiled again in discussion of the Sunset gym roof, with members divided over what needed to be done and the expense involved.

The hot button issue reared its head Tuesday night, with board members differing over whether to set funding aside to fix the roof, as well as add a new air conditioning system. And, shortly after the work session began Thursday, it came up again when Clyde Locklear, assistant superintendent of finance/facilities, gave his committee reports.

Although the county’s appropriation for 2010-11 to Clinton City Schools is $238,969, the roof is expected to cost much more than that. The board voted unanimously Tuesday night to go ahead and appropriate $250,000 in fund balance to cover possible costs for the roof and air conditioning with the idea that Locklear would go back and tweak the budget and bring it back to the board for approval.

“We discussed this Tuesday night,” said Locklear, “and based on those directions you gave me, I will put the entire budget together and transfered that funding into this budget resolution for your approval.”

After Locklear finished his presentation, board member Diane Viser spoke up. “Clyde I know that we were discussing this the other night, but I have some increasing difficulty swallowing some of the numbers we were talking about.”

Viser was referring to the year-and-a half-old estimates Locklear provided the board on roofing costs. His estimated cost for replacement and its associated cost was $237,000. The air conditioning estimate was approximately $150,000 or greater.

“I don’t want you to put more time and effort into this (budget), personally, if we are not going to vote to approve the air conditioning project,” Viser said. “ ... does anyone have the stomach to discuss this again?”

Apparently they did.

“I am with you on that,” said board member Georgina Zeng. “I would love to go ahead with the roof project and let that be, but the air conditioning project we can come back to when we have more information and can talk with commissioners and see if they can give us some money.”

But board member Randy Barefoot disagreed.

“I think with the air conditioning and the roof, they go hand-in-hand with construction ... the contractors have to be on the same page ... whether we do either one, we need to know what we are working with because the contractors may want to work together to put the air conditioner on the roof. It may be a difference of several thousands dollars to put it on top or on the ground. I think we need to get the contractors on the same page with a clear mind of what we want them to do.”

E.R. Mason agreed. “If you are going to do the roof, we need to get something in writing, some estimates. It is important that those children be cool in the summer and warm in the winter months. I think that we owe it to them because this is something Mrs. Squibb has been talking about since she has been on the board, and we have to do this to protect the children.”

Mason suggested getting air conditioning and roofing experts in to get updated estimates so they can look at everything with a fresh perspective.

“The only way we are going to find out is to get an expert on it,” he said. “I don’t know how much it is going to cost, and Clyde don’t know how much it is going to cost. We just need to get that information and take it from there.”

Board member Carol Worley was looking for some clarification.

“Maybe it was my misunderstanding, but I have heard twice, ‘if’ we are going to do the roof,” she said. “I thought we had to do the roof, but I now understand that this is something that we should move forward on, but we are not obligated to even do the roof. If we are not even set on even doing the roof yet, I don’t think we should be discussing that kind of money for this project either.”

Worley noted that Zeng had suggested building an additional multi-purpose room at the school instead of investing the money in the old gym and its roof.

“I thought that was a good idea,” said Worley. “The figures got thrown around for a million dollar gym, but we necessarily don’t need a new gym for the elementary school children, that multi-purpose room would be fine.”

Locklear estimated that a new multipurpose room could cost upwards of $600,000.

“I am uneasy about spending that kind of money on that (the gym),” said Worley. “I understand that this has been talked about for years, and I understand that the children shouldn’t suffer, but I feel like we can keep the children safe and keep them cool by going a different route. We are looking at half a million dollars for a roof and air conditioner ... we need to consider that there will be more added expenses than just that roof and air conditioner. That is not even counting the insulation or the windows that won’t close in there. We talked about a half a million dollars on Tuesday, but it will obviously exceed that. If we are going to spend that much, we could do a multi-purpose room, we don’t have to do a million dollar gym.”

“We just said let’s get some prices first,” said Mason, “and then go from there.”

Highlighting what she believed to be the urgency of doing something at the Sunset gym, board chairman Kathleen Squibb welcomed fellow board members to visit the school. “With school starting on August 25, everyone who is not interested in getting a heating or air conditioning unit at the school, I would ask you to come in, volunteer and spend your day with these kids and see what they are having to endure in that gym,” she said.

“It is horrendous. They may spend 50 or 60 minutes a day in that gym and they have to turn around, go back to their classrooms. Try to imagine how they feel and what they smell like for the remainder of the day.”

Barefoot said what was being asked was for Locklear to put a dollar figure into the budget and then to get the budget approved so the appropriation would be in place.

“...So we can come back and (we) could do it if we wanted to,” said Barefoot. “Later on we can discuss if we are going to do both, that is for a later day.”

But Viser was still concerned about the funding.

“Let’s try and work on lowering the cost,” said Viser. “Let’s get the numbers and let’s try to get the costs lowered.”

Locklear said since he has been in workshops most of the week, he had not had a chance to call for updated roof estimates.

“But you are working on it, right?” asked Squibb.

“Yes,” said Locklear.

Zeng said she was concerned on spending so much money on one school when there were other needs in others.

“It is a lot of money,” she said. “To be concentrating on one thing and we are forgetting about the middle school that needs a new driveway and we haven’t even discussed that yet.”

Superintendent Dr. Michael Basham noted that the new driveway has been discussed among administrators and it has been “put off until next year”, as part of a five-year plan.

“I didn’t know that,” said Zeng. “But I thought the driveway was from two years ago.”

“There was a recommendation to bring that back,” explained Basham. “Because of the needs at Sunset, there is only so much money you can do things with ...”

“To maintain a facility, any facility,” noted Squibb, “it is going to cost you money. You just have to decide which is top priority and which is going to have a safer impact for the kids. Is it more important for kids to be in a safe environment or is it more important to have a parent to take a shortcut across the field and be able to get out two minutes quicker than they would if they went out somewhere else?”

“I talk about this (parking lot), because I am a middle school parent,” said Zeng defiantly. “You have to wait in that line to pick up your kid and that line is out to the roundabout. That is why they want the extra road opened up. The amount of upset parents in the first three weeks of school is outrageous. Maybe the priority to one board member is not the same as the other one. For me, the roof, yes, but then there are other schools we need to look at; the air conditioning can come at a later date.”

Worley helped Zeng’s cause. “I understand that the issue with that driveway is about more than just the cars,” she said. “It is about the kids getting wet on rainy days.”

However, to construct overhangs or canopies would cost thousands of dollars, Locklear told the board.

“I have picked up my child drenched completely with their band instruments and all,” Zeng stressed.

Basham held firm to his opinion.

“This is Clinton City Schools,” he told the board. “A school district that has produced so many great things, and has so many great people out there and we don’t have air conditioning in every building? Hertford County has air conditioning in every building, everywhere, and has for years, and they are a poor county. But even there, I did not let the kids go without air conditioning. I mean, let’s air condition what we are supposed to air condition and fix it up. We are a proud school district; we are a school district of achievement. We are a proud system and we need to do what we need to do. Yes, we need more technology and yes, we need to fix the front walk, but we can do that with a five-year plan. Let us get that plan together and get it to you, OK?”

To reach Doug Clark call 910-592-8137 ext. 123 or send e-mail to sisports@heartlandpublications.com.