At its regular meeting March 15, the McDuffie County Board of Education approved Phase II of the Brickyard Project. The project includes new bleachers and a field house on the home side of the stadium, renovation of the track and practice field, along with new lights, and renovation of the football field.
Demolition of the old bleachers and field house began Monday. New lights at the track are expected to be completed by May 11, so that they will be in place for Relay for Life. Renovation of the field will begin after the Relay for Life fundraiser.
The entire project, including renovation of the field and stadium, will be completed by Oct. 10.
The total projected cost of the project is no more than $3.88 million. It will be funded through SPLOST V funds and municipal bonds.
The board also approved all proposed field trips for the remainder of the school year, including away sporting events.
Board member Bob Smith noted that other school districts are reporting that rising fuel costs have already taken more than 70 percent of their budgets, and asked how fuel prices are affecting the McDuffie County school system.
Comptroller Tom Smalley reassured the board that the rising cost of fuel should not exhaust the budget.
“When we started planning this budget, we doubled the transportation fuel budget, wisely so. Right now we’ve got 49 percent of our budget remaining,” Smalley said. “In the energy budget, we have 56.5 percent, for electricity and all of that. We’re in good shape.”
The 2012-13 school calendar was also approved. It will include 176 instructional days for students and 184 work days for teachers, with eight professional learning days for teachers and two half-days, one at the end of each semester.
