Serving Boone, Blowing Rock, Banner Elk, and other towns of the North Carolina High Country | Founded 05-05-05

January 4, 2007 issue

The High School Debate

The most controversial issue in Watauga County in 2006 was the high school.

By the beginning of 2006, the Watauga County Board of Education, after more than two years of study, planning and public input, had decided to construct a new high school at the current school site. The school board maintained that new construction was a better choice than renovation, citing factors including economics, square footage and technology needs, safety and class disruption. Because a search committee had been unable to find an acceptable alternative site, the board, in consultation with an architectural firm, determined that best alternative available was to construct the new building in the high school parking lot and then to demolish the old school when the new facility was completed.

In February, a group of citizens including County Commissioner David Blust, former County Commissioner James Wilcox and local businessman Gayle Henson began publicly questioning the decision to build a new high school. The Citizens for Renovation of Watauga County High School called for renovation of the current facility, maintaining that the building could be cost effectively upgraded and that renovation would save county taxpayers millions of dollars. One repeated criticism from the group was that the school board had not determined the true cost or feasibility of renovation, but had instead simply agreed to the architects’ recommendations.

Full-page ads opposing the construction of a new high school appeared in local newspapers. The group amended its name to RID (Republicans, Independents and Democrats) Citizens for Restoration of Watauga High and registered as a political action committee.

Also in February, a prospective buyer made a tentative offer for the purchase of the current high school site, causing the school board to suspend the architectural design work on the new high school building.

Shortly afterward, Superintendent Dr. Bobbie Short released a statement about the high school planning process, explaining that the planning team’s original dream school was a 264,000 square foot facility with an estimate cost of $56 million. The planners scaled back and agreed on a 239,000 square foot facility at an estimated cost of $43 million. Short cited a number of deficiencies with the current building that made renovation impractical, including classroom sizes, security and supervision concerns, disability access, overburdened electrical service, corroded plumbing and heat pipes and water leaks.

In response to RID’s concerns that the true cost of a renovation had not been determined, the school board tasked Construction Control Corporation with preparing a comprehensive renovation cost estimate, and company representatives presented the results in April. The estimated tab was $34.9 million, a figure that included the addition of a new wing for an auditorium and 16 classrooms, as well as interior and exterior renovations.

Opponents pointed out that the figure was not a true renovation estimate because it included additions to the complex, but the focus of the opposition was shifting in light of additional interest in the property from other potential buyers. RID raised concerns that the property would be sold too cheaply. In the meantime, the search was on for an alternate site.

In April, another group formed around the high school issue: Citizens for Children, a nonpartisan organization supporting the construction of a new high school.

In May, the Boone Town Council approved a change in zoning for the site from R-3 (multi-family residential) to B-3 (general business), a request made by the school board to increase the property’s marketability.

On July 25, the Watauga County Board of Commissioners and Watauga County Board of Education held a public meeting to announce the decision to build a new high school in Perkinsville. Commission Chair Jim Deal said that board members had investigated several available sites, but that the Perkinsville site, made up of several tracts (the largest owned by ASU), not only offered the most land area, but also would require the least amount of land preparation.

The argument changed from renovation to the method of financing the new school, with opponents of the project calling for a bond referendum, running more ads and circulating a petition to show public support for the opportunity to vote on the issue.

Opponents pointed out that without voter approval via a bond referendum, the county would pay a higher interest rate on the project, and also criticized the purchase prices of several tracts at the Perkinsville site, pointing out the differences between the tax appraisals and what the county was offering for the properties. Other criticisms were traffic congestion in the area and the proximity of the Boone wastewater treatment plant.

In September, the Boone Area Chamber of Commerce endorsed the building of a new high school via resolution presented by Chamber President Dan Meyer to the commissioners.

From October through the end of the year, the Watauga County Board of Commissioners took several steps forward, obtaining Local Government Commission approval for a $7 million installment purchase contract to provide short-term financing for the land purchases; closing on all but one tract at the site; authorizing architectural work, environmental studies and a construction request for proposal; obtaining a water allocation from the Town of Boone; and working with the town and the DOT to further the plans for developing a new road to the site and creating cul de sacs to prevent drive-through traffic in existing neighborhoods.

Despite the opposition and criticism, the high school project has steadily gained momentum and the results of the November election ensure that it will continue. All of the school board and commissioner candidates elected support the new school.