2018 Long Range Facilities Plan

GASTON COUNTY SCHOOLS 2018 Long Range Facility Plan GASTON COUNTY SCHOOLS TABLE OF CONTENTS SECTION A: INTRODUCTION Introduction .......................................................................................................... 1 History .................................................................................................................. 2 SECTION B: ENROLLMENTS AND GROWTH Previous Decade of Enrollments ...................................................................... 3 Projected County Growth ................................................................................. 3 SECTION C: FACILITY AGE Age of School Buildings .................................................................................... 4 Average Age by Township .............................................................................. 4 Average Age by Grade Level ........................................................................ 4 SECTION D: FACILITY SUMMARY SHEETS Facility Summary Sheets Front Cover Photo: McCracken & Lopez, P.A. GASTON COUNTY SCHOOLS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The information contained within this report was compiled by GCS Auxiliary Services personnel thanks to several resources including but not limited to the GCS Facilities Services, GCS Finance Department, GCS Student Assignment, Gaston County GIS/Mapping, 1974 Public Service Administration’s report of Gaston County Schools: A Survey of the Consolidated System, 1986 Gaston County Schools Annual Report, 1990-91 Gaston County Schools Survey Report, 1992 Report and Recommendations of the Task Force on School Facilities, 2001 Gaston County Schools Facility Needs Survey, and Gaston County 2035 Comprehensive Land Use Plan. BOARD OF EDUCATION Mr. Kevin L. Collier, Chair Mr. Jeff Ramsey, Vice Chair Ms. Dot Cherry Mr. Justin Davis Mr. Lee Dedmon Ms. Dot Guthrie Mr. Brent Moore Ms. Catherine Roberts Mr. Terry Usery GASTON COUNTY SCHOOLS ADMINISTRATION Mr. W. Jeffrey Booker, Superintendent GASTON COUNTY SCHOOLS VISION The vision of Gaston County Schools is to inspire success and a lifetime of learning. MISSION Through outstanding employees and community partners, Gaston County Schools provides innovative educational opportunities for all students in a safe and nurturing learning environment. BELIEFS Diversity Innovation Collaboration Excellence Safety GOALS Every student will graduate prepared for post-secondary opportunities. Every member of our diverse student population has the opportunity for individualized instruction. Every employee is capable and committed to the education of the whole child. Every school has up-to-date technology to support teaching and learning. Every student has the opportunity to learn in a safe school environment. GASTON COUNTY SCHOOLS GASTON COUNTY SCHOOLS INTRODUCTION In its mission, Gaston County Schools The LRFP strives to provide an assessment of each facility’s condition in conjunction with physical strives to inspire success and a lifetime of needs required to support a safe and nurturing learning. To that end, GCS endeavors to provide learning environment. As part of this process, each each student, teacher, and staff member with successive LRFP reviews the former plan in order to outstanding educational facilities that inspire remove items undertaken or completed and teaching and learning. School facilities support verifies adequate student capacity based upon the mission of GCS by providing innovative enrollment data and projections. Once identified educational opportunities in a safe and nurturing needs have been quantified, a capital estimate is learning environment. generated and inevitably a district forecast is In an effort to continuously improve the developed. educational environment of the more than 32,000 As each year brings new challenges to address, students who come to learn and grow, GCS must GCS facilities are continually evaluated for develop and update its Long Range Facility Plan condition, capacity, and function. With anticipated (LRFP). As a guiding resource, the LRFP provides growth, not only is additional educational space the necessary identification and qualification for needed but it is also vital that existing facilities are priority-based renewals and replacements of reconditioned and repurposed in order to continue GCS facilities which serve our students and to meet the demands of quality learning teachers each day, week, month, and year. The environments. GCS is dedicated to taking care of document is meant to serve as a communication the community’s investment for decades to come to vehicle to demonstrate need, guide ensure our children are provided with a safe and implementation, and look to the future to nurturing space to learn and grow. anticipate needs. 1 GASTON COUNTY SCHOOLS HISTORY In 1968, the modern Gaston have created an ever-increasing demand for County School District became a quality facilities that provide our students and teachers with the learning environments they reality through the consolidation of what so richly need and deserve. were then three school systems within Gaston County – City of Gastonia, Gaston County, Today, GCS is the tenth largest public school and City of Cherryville. Two years earlier, the district in North Carolina and provides a wide Public Administration Service had submitted a range of facility services for students, report entitled “The Public Schools of Gaston teachers, and staff throughout 54 schools as County” to the Board of County well as central administrative service Commissioners with the recommendation that locations. Requests for service and repair are the three systems be consolidated into a single managed through a centralized request countywide system. system. Facilities Services personnel diligently maintain a preventative maintenance This became reality in 1968 by a referendum schedule, provide regular maintenance of the citizens pursuant to an enabling act of services, respond to emergency situations, and the state legislature. In 1973, the introduction plan accordingly for future needs. of Kindergarten across the state increased the student population by about 3,200 as well as This LRFP is one of many resources used to the staffing, curriculum, and facility needs assist with prioritization and planning where throughout the district. Other such innovations and how resources may best be provided and curricula needs throughout the decades should funding allow. 2 GASTON COUNTY SCHOOLS ENROLLMENTS AND GROWTH Previous Decade of Enrollments 33,000 32,500 32,585 32,460 32,444 32,000 31,500 31,654 31,555 31,581 31,415 31,421 31,000 31,189 31,152 31,033 30,500 30,000 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 Students (excludes Pre-K) Projected County Growth 235,000 230,000 225,000 220,000 215,000 210,000 205,000 200,000 195,000 190,000 2010 2025 County Population 3 GASTON COUNTY SCHOOLS FACILITY AGE AGE OF SCHOOL BUILDINGS 19.0% 18.0% 16.4% 13.8% 12.7% 10.6% 5.3% 4.2% 0-9 10-19 20-29 30-39 40-49 50-59 60-69 70+ AVERAGE AGE BY TOWNSHIP Cherryville 44 Crowders Mountain 37 Dallas 46 Gastonia 42 Riverbend 37 South Point 30 0 10 20 30 40 50 YEARS AVERAGE AGE BY LEVEL 46 50 40 37 40 30 YEARS 20 10 0 Elementary Middle High 4 2018 LONG RANGE FACILITY STUDY ASHBROOK HIGH SCHOOL 2222 SOUTH NEW HOPE ROAD Building Size: 204,982 Sq.Ft. Capacity: 1,459 Grade Level: 9-12 Year Built: 1970, ’96 Site Size: 68.4 Acres Capital Needs: $16-20M HISTORY Ashbrook High School is a comprehensive grades 9-12 high school opened in 1970 and is located on South New Hope Road in Gastonia. The school is a consolidation of the former Ashley High (Gastonia High and Highland High) and Holbrook High schools which resulted in the name Ashbrook. An auxiliary gym was opened in 1996 as a result of the district’s shift from grades 7-9 junior highs/grades 10-12 high schools to grades 6-8 middle schools/9-12 high schools. SITE PLAN PROJECT NEEDS Auditoriums Carpentry Electrical Furniture HVAC Life Safety Paving/Site Work Plumbing Roofing Other 2018 LONG RANGE FACILITY STUDY H.H. BEAM ELEMENTARY SCHOOL 200 DAVIS PARK ROAD Building Size: 75,070 Sq.Ft. Capacity: 723 Grade Level: K-5 Year Built: 1974, ’91, ’05 Site Size: 12 Acres Capital Needs: $ 2-4M HISTORY Hershal H. Beam Elementary houses grades K-5 and is located on Davis Park Road in Gastonia. The original school, South Gastonia, was built on the current school site in 1925 and over the years housed grades 1-9. This school was replaced with on-site major building projects in 1991 and 2005. The school is named for the late Hershal H. Beam, longtime principal of South Gastonia School and member of the Gaston County Board of Education who also served as Chair of the Board. SITE PLAN PROJECT NEEDS Carpentry Electrical HVAC Life Safety Paving/Site Work Plumbing Roofing 2018 LONG RANGE FACILITY STUDY W.B. BEAM INTERMEDIATE SCHOOL 401 EAST FIRST STREET Building Size: 31,956 Sq.Ft. Capacity: 221 Grade Level: 4-5 Year Built: 1948, ’51, ’61, ’04 Site Size: 12.9 Acres Capital Needs: $1-3M HISTORY Located on East First Street in Cherryville, William Blaine Beam Intermediate houses grades 4 and 5. The school opened in 2004 on the campus of the former Cherryville High School. Three classrooms, Starnes Auditorium and band room, administration areas and cafeteria that were part of the former high school were renovated along with a new classroom wing, comprise this school. The school also has access to Nixon Gym which is part of the former high school and continues to be used by the current high school. The school

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