Mon BOE getting set for first days of a future school
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MORGANTOWN - Monday is the first day of school for Monongalia County's students - but Monongalia County's Board of Education is already looking well past that.
Board members this week approved a list of qualified firms that are vying for the key construction manager-at-risk slot for the coming Suncrest Middle School build near Mon Health Medical Center.
CMARs help marshal such large-scale work in all phases, as they collaborate on costs with the architects, contractors and other entities involved with the build.
The state School Building Authority approved a $16.9 million outlay for the new school, which the district is matching.
All told, the $34 million school will sit on 17 acres of land. The district wants it opened two years from now.
While the new school is being built with projected enrollment of 499 students, the design also accounts for a projected 15% population increase down the line - given that Mon is a retail and medical hub in the region.
The board also granted center-stage status, as it were, to Thrasher Engineering, the firm doing work that will eventually figure into the auditorium renovation at Morgantown High School.
Thrasher is already doing work on water lines below the landmark auditorium, which was dedicated by Eleanor Roosevelt in 1940.
At the recommendation of Superintendent Eddie Campbell Jr., the board unanimously approved an amendment to the Thrasher contract that will address sidewalk slippages and other water leaks near the MHS band room
"We're having Thrasher do the work under the auditorium," Campbell said.
"They're going to go in and do some cutting on some pipes under there to try and get those cleaned out."
The MHS Foundation did the fundraising for the auditorium, which has been graced by once-and-future stars Don Knotts and Trevor Nicholas when they were in school.