PENDER COUNTY — Pender County is on track to opening two new schools in time for the 2018-19 school year according to construction managers for both the Penderlea School and the Surf City Area Schools. But there have been setbacks for both projects.
The schools are part of a $75 million bond project approved in 2014 to help address growth in the area, and meet the demands for schools in the county.
On Monday, construction managers for both schools gave the Pender County Board of Commissioners an update on their respective projects.
“Both Penderlea and Surf City Schools are due to open this year for the upcoming new school year … of course we’ve had some issues at both sites that have been challenging but at this time we are hopeful that the buildings will be ready, and we’ve insisted to each of the teams that they have to be, failure is not an option,” Alan Vann director of building and grounds for Pender County said.
Penderlea School
Metcon, the construction team for Penderlea School has been behind schedule for several months. But, according to Vann, they are on track for a 2018 school year opening and have been working overtime, and weekends to meet the timeline. Everything must be ready for school to begin by July 11, since the school is on a year-round schedule.
The school was originally supposed to cost $22,475,042 but after more than $300,000 worth of change orders the total has increased to $22,796,842.
Surf City Schools
The Surf City Schools will consist of K-5 and 6-8 grades and is scheduled for a substantial completion date of July 1. The guaranteed maximum price for the school is $38.6 million and is currently within budget, according to the presentation.
As of March 13, the project is 77 percent complete and sidewalks, sod, and brick installation have all been completed. The biggest task for the project has been getting water and sewer infrastructure from the Town of Surf City, according to Vann.
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