CCBOE passes capital plan, discusses enrollment increase

Coffee County Schools Board of Education passed its current capital plan for the ongoing and upcoming capital projects at the school system at a board meeting on Sept. 3.

Coffee County Schools Superintendent Kelly Cobb discussed the proposed Capital Plan at a work session that the board held before the meeting and at the work session she also discussed the school’s current enrollment, which has seen a big jump from the 2020-2021 school year to this current school year.

Coffee County Schools saw an increase from 2,406 total students in 20-21 to 2,639 in the 21-22 school year, which is an increase of 233 students. That number is more than three times the amount of an increase the school system saw from 19-20 to 20-21.

All four of the county schools have seen an increase in enrollment with Kinston School seeing an increase of eight students, New Brockton Elementary seeing an increase of 93 new students, New Brockton High seeing an increase of 104 students and Zion Chapel School increasing by 28 new students.

In discussing the the school’s capital plan, Cobb said that the new gym at Zion Chapel School is roughly 70 percent completed and is expected to be completed in October. The total cost of that budgeted project is $4,325,000.

The construction of six new classrooms, a storm shelter, an administrative office and restrooms at New Brockton High is also currently underway with a total budgeted cost of $2,415,000. Cobb said that this new wing of NBHS will look very similar to the way the new wing at NBES looks.

Also, the school system is currently in the process of an HVAC project that will replace HVACs throughout the district and is expected to be completed by the summer of 2023. This project is expected to total $400,000 and will be paid for with ESSER funds.

The next project in line at Coffee County Schools is the renovation of the gym at NBES into a new cafetorium to expand seating due to enrollment increases. The cost of this project is expected to be $750,000. Cobb said that the school is currently exploring alternatives for a gymnasium at the elementary school.

The next project is the construction of a new lunchroom at Kinston to increase the size to accommodate increased enrollment. They will also renovate the old lunchroom into new classrooms and storage rooms. The cost of this project is estimated at $2 million.

The next project will be the renovation and addition of dressing/locker rooms at the NBHS gym at an estimated cost of $485,000.

The next project is further security upgrades at all school buildings at an estimated cost of $275,000 followed by the replacement of the school system’s bus shop at the estimated cost of $1 million.

The final two projects on the capital plan include the construction of a pitching and hitting facility at Kinston School at an estimated cost of $250,000 and playground upgrades at each elementary school at an estimated cost of $250,000.

At the following board meeting, the board unanimously passed the capital plan.