Chairman Jay Carlilse said following the meeting his assurance to the board also meant the school system would build a school in that price range that would accommodate all students.
The issue came up today during the board of commissioners meeting after the school system two weeks ago issued a statement $19.2 million would not be enough to build the new school.
Commissioner Rives Manning brought the issue up during a portion of the meeting designated for other business.
Manning hinged his discussion on a memo from Hite associates, an architectural and planning company in Greenville which had submitted bids for the Manning school project which weren't chosen by the school board.
In the introductory email, James Hite, says of the original estimation of $26 million by Smith Sinnett of Raleigh, “No way is $26,000,000 justified unless the school is much larger than 700 students.”
In the lead-in email, Hite explains, based on his company's bid for a new North Johnston Middle School, the cost was $162 per square feet. “NJMS was bid in May one year ago and is finishing up now. We had a difficult site that factored into the cost, but of course the Manning site is difficult as well. If costs have risen (they have) by 10 percent since last year, the estimate would be $162 (times) 85,820 square feet (equals) $15,293,124 plus fees of 6 percent. If they have risen by 15 percent, it would be $15,988,266.”
Manning said Hite was the architect of the Chaloner Middle School addition and the work was flawless. “Hite sent in a bid and he was basically surprised that he wasn't called.”
The differences between the Smith Sinnett proposal and what Hite proposed, Manning said, “That's a big difference. That's roughly $4 million of Halifax County taxpayer money. I'm really concerned.”
Manning questioned County Attorney Glynn Rollins on whether the county could rescind a vote allocating $1.2 million for seed money for the Manning school project.
“That presents a major issue if you have something else in mind,” Rollins said, especially since the school system and Smith Sinnett have already entered into a contract.
Commissioner Patrick Qualls said he was in favor of the $1.2 million allocated. “What I'm not in favor of is the back and forth. I don't want to build a 550 (student) school and have mobile units.”
Carlilse told commissioners there were a couple of issues that came up with Hite's proposal, which he declined to discuss in detail. Nevertheless, he said, the school system was going to work within the $19 million criteria and try to come in under $19 million.
“The board is committed to a new Manning school,” board of commissioners Chair Vernon Bryant said. “We want it to stay at $19.2 million. I would hate to see a $19.2 million school and have mobile units out there.”
Said Manning: “We're not looking for any supplements or add-ons at the last minute,” to which Bryant responded, “We don't want to hear that. It has to stay in that range.”
