020917 Joint ACSFebruary 9, 2017
Special Joint Meeting with the Asheboro City School Board of Education
The Randolph County Board of Commissioners met in a special joint session with the
Asheboro City Board of Education at 6:00 p.m. in the Professional Development Center, on the
corner of Church Street and Walker Avenue on the Asheboro High School campus, Asheboro.
Commissioners Allen, Frye, Haywood, Kidd and McDowell were present. Also present were
County Manager Hal Johnson; Finance Officer Will Massie; County Staff Attorney Aimee
Scotton; Amanda Varner, Clerk to the Board; Dana Crisco, Deputy Clerk to the Board; and
members of the Asheboro City Board of Education and school officials, Superintendent Dr.
Terry Worrell, Kyle Lamb, Phillip Cheek, Gustavo Agudelo, Linda Cranford, Baxter Hammer,
Joyce Harrington, Gidget Kidd, Jeni Martin, Archie Priest, Jr., Michael B. Smith and other
school officials; Finance Officer Harold Blair, Director of Facilities and Maintenance Michael
Mize, and Executive Assistant to the Superintendent Donna Gentry.
School Board Chairman Kyle Lamb welcomed the Commissioners and Chairman Allen called
the meeting to order for the County. Dr. Terry Worrell began the presentation by stating that the
City School's facility needs and their commitment to students fits with the County's Strategic
Plan goals set forth for quality of life for citizens.
Mr. Mize provided a power point presentation. The first item discussed was the ages of the
city school buildings with the average being 55 years old. Their buildings range from 25 years
old for Balfour to 71 years for Loflin.
Asheboro High School's core capacity is 965 students but currently has 1373 students
enrolled, making it 42% over capacity. The biggest issues at the high school are the media
center, cafeteria, kitchen, and commons. He said the high school also is in dire need of upgrades
to technology, HVAC, electrical, plumbing, lighting, paint, and roofs. Also needed is asbestos
removal and to address some ADA issues. The last addition to the high school was in 1993. Mr.
Mize said the master plan includes an addition to the back of AHS for classrooms and core space
renovations.
Mr. Mize said the Sir Robert addition was projected to meet facility needs for ten years but
has served them well for the last fourteen years. The classroom size is much smaller in this
facility at 653 square feet. He said a standard classroom size should be 900-950 square feet.
Dr. Worrell mentioned the science labs, nursing, health care labs, technology, cultural arts,
robotics and advanced manufacturing/trades as specialized training being given at the high
school to help secure the economic development of Randolph County. She said they want
students to grow here, to keep students here or make them want to come back to Randolph
County, and to create jobs here. Mr. Mize and Dr. Worrell discussed these specialized programs
within the high school and the space needs. One program they showcased was their nursing
program, a popular program that has a waiting list. If a student completes the four-year program
they could graduate with a high school diploma and a CNA certificate. Many nursing schools
will not accept nursing students until after they have their CNA. This gives these students an
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advantage. Dr. Worrell also said that RCC does provide instructions for some of the other
programs like those offered at the Early College High School program at RCC.
Next, Mr. Mize continued his presentation and discussed the remaining infrastructure needs.
Many of the HVAC units, chillers, boilers, and roofs are getting some age on them and
beginning to require extensive repairs. Mr. Mize said they had incurred $69,001.27 in
unexpected expenses over the past three months just in HVAC repairs. It will have to be
determined if it is more feasible to replace as parts are getting harder to find. He said new
technology is more efficient but doesn't seem to be as durable. Other needs were electrical and
electrical panel upgrades, intercom upgrades, and fire alarm upgrades. Water lines running to,
throughout and under the buildings, have reached a very fragile stage, which is creating an
abundance of emergency repairs.
Next, Mr. Mize gave capital plan summary, as follows:
• an addition to AHS to increase core capacity from 965 to 1450 and provide additional
space for 18 classrooms ($9,875,000);
• renovations and infrastructure upgrades to AHS that will include science labs,
technology, advanced manufacturing/trades, ADA upgrades, HVAC, electrical,
plumbing, wireless, lighting, and asbestos floors (22,800,000).
The total of those needs were $32,675,000. Additional capital needs total $2,098,674 for
kitchen renovations at McCrary Elementary and Lindley Park Elementary, HVAC in the North
and South Asheboro Middle School gyms and the old Asheboro High School gym.
Chairman Allen asked what their priorities were. Dr. Worrell stated that the School Board
would work with Smith Sinnett to determine the order of priority.
Commissioner McDowell asked if the total for all the capital needs would be needed all at
one time. Mr. Lamb responded that it would be needed over a two or three year period.
Commissioner Haywood stated he knew the Asheboro City School Board had been good
stewards of the money they had been given. He added that he also applauded Smith Sinnett
Architect for working with the City Schools to prepare for their capital projects. This keeps the
County aware of what lies ahead.
Commissioner Frye said there has been good value and life in the buildings due to the great
care they have been given.
Commissioner McDowell mentioned the training session for new Commissioners that he had
just attended. In the financial portion of the discussion, it was said that counties with population
over 100,000 will normally spend at least 28% of their budget on education.
Adiournment
At 6:52 p.m., on motion of Frye, seconded by McDowell, the Board voted unanimously to
adjourn.
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David Allen, Chairman
Stan Haywood
Maxton McDowell
Darrell L. Frye
Kenny Kidd
Amanda Varner, Clerk to the Board
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