“It is in the courts hands and is being aggressively pursued.” That is what Enterprise City Schools Superintendent Greg Faught said Tuesday, April 25, about construction issues that have surfaced over the last year at the Enterprise High School building.
The facility was competed in 2010 after the existing high school was destroyed by an EF-4 tornado that ripped through Enterprise March 1, 2007.
On March 4, 2008, city officials secured a $30 million bond issue for the rebuilding of Enterprise High School. Through an approved half-cent sales tax increase, the rebuilding became a community effort.
Brassfield and Gorrie, Birmingham-based contractors were awarded the $62 million project. With site work, architects fees and added alternates, including an auditorium, stadium and tornado shelters, the cost of the new high school reached nearly $90 million.
Site work began in 2008 and construction followed in January 2009. For the next 20 months, 350 to 400 workers were on site six days a week, according to The Southeast Sun files.
Faught said Tuesday that over the past year facility issues have surfaced to include some 13 areas of leakage over a 250,000 square foot area. “That was the initial issue that we became aware of last spring,” Faught said.
Areas of the exterior of the school built of cast stone are also of concern, Faught said. “The most pressing concern is within the confines of the courtyard. That's why we’ve closed down the courtyard.”
In early February, the Enterprise City Schools Maintenance Department began erecting safety barriers to keep students away from portions of the EHS. “After a consultant for the Enterprise Board of Education inspected the building, it was recommended that, as a precaution, the school take steps to establish a buffer around some of the areas which are the most affected until such time as a thorough investigation can be made into the cause of the problem and appropriate repairs can be made,” Faught said at that time. “In the interest of safety, the court yard has remained closed down.one of our highest priorities is the safety of our students, teachers and guests.”
A lawsuit filed by the Enterprise Board of Education in Coffee County Circuit Court was later amended to include the exterior stone issues. “We are aggressively pursuing this but right now it is in the court’s hands,” Faught said. “This is a big community interest situation. People are passionate about the issue of safety and of our high school.
“We’re pushing this as hard as we can to get it fixed. We want to plow straight ahead,” Faught said. “This appears to be an exterior façade issue. There is no evidence of structural damage within the building, with the exception of cast stone in the foyer area that has begun to crack
During the schools’ recent spring break, a consulting group of engineers came to the EHS campus at the request of the EBOE and did what Faught called “some destructive testing.
“They pulled some 30 stones away from the building and what they found is that none of those stones appeared to be anchored according to the way the plans said that they should be anchored,”
The consulting team has not yet reported back to the EBOE, Faught said. “They are currently compiling a report that details the scope of the work that he feels needs to be done. That will be important moving forward.”
“I am not trying to sugar coat this. This is a serious concern,” Faught said. “At this point in time, we do not feel like our students our in danger. If we did, we wouldn’t have them in there but it is not an ideal situation at all.”
By Michelle Mann
“It is in the courts hands and is being aggressively pursued.” That is what Enterprise City Schools Superintendent Greg Faught said Tuesday, April 25, about construction issues that have surfaced over the last year at the Enterprise High School building.
The facility was competed in 2010 after the existing high school was destroyed by an EF-4 tornado that ripped through Enterprise March 1, 2007.
On March 4, 2008, city officials secured a $30 million bond issue for the rebuilding of Enterprise High School. Through an approved half-cent sales tax increase, the rebuilding became a community effort.
Brassfield and Gorrie, Birmingham-based contractors were awarded the $62 million project. With site work, architects fees and added alternates, including an auditorium, stadium and tornado shelters, the cost of the new high school reached nearly $90 million.
Site work began in 2008 and construction followed in January 2009. For the next 20 months, 350 to 400 workers were on site six days a week, according to The Southeast Sun files.
Faught said Tuesday that over the past year facility issues have surfaced to include some 13 areas of leakage over a 250,000 square foot area. “That was the initial issue that we became aware of last spring,” Faught said.
Areas of the exterior of the school built of cast stone are also of concern, Faught said. “The most pressing concern is within the confines of the courtyard. That's why we’ve closed down the courtyard.”
In early February, the Enterprise City Schools Maintenance Department began erecting safety barriers to keep students away from portions of the EHS. “After a consultant for the Enterprise Board of Education inspected the building, it was recommended that, as a precaution, the school take steps to establish a buffer around some of the areas which are the most affected until such time as a thorough investigation can be made into the cause of the problem and appropriate repairs can be made,” Faught said at that time. “In the interest of safety, the court yard has remained closed down.one of our highest priorities is the safety of our students, teachers and guests.”
A lawsuit filed by the Enterprise Board of Education in Coffee County Circuit Court was later amended to include the exterior stone issues. “We are aggressively pursuing this but right now it is in the court’s hands,” Faught said. “This is a big community interest situation. People are passionate about the issue of safety and of our high school.
“We’re pushing this as hard as we can to get it fixed. We want to plow straight ahead,” Faught said. “This appears to be an exterior façade issue. There is no evidence of structural damage within the building, with the exception of cast stone in the foyer area that has begun to crack
During the schools’ recent spring break, a consulting group of engineers came to the EHS campus at the request of the EBOE and did what Faught called “some destructive testing.
“They pulled some 30 stones away from the building and what they found is that none of those stones appeared to be anchored according to the way the plans said that they should be anchored,”
The consulting team has not yet reported back to the EBOE, Faught said. “They are currently compiling a report that details the scope of the work that he feels needs to be done. That will be important moving forward.”
“I am not trying to sugar coat this. This is a serious concern,” Faught said. “At this point in time, we do not feel like our students our in danger. If we did, we wouldn’t have them in there but it is not an ideal situation at all.”
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