Engineering report: $5.5 million in upgrades needed at Rutherford College Elementary School

Once more, the Burke County Board of Education has found itself with a decision to make on an aging school building.

Cort Architectural Group, SKA Consulting Engineers and McKim & Creed recently performed a thorough evaluation of Rutherford College Elementary School and found a number of building code and Americans with Disabilities Act issues with the building. The suggested cost for renovations in the areas of issue totals more than $5.5 million, though Doug Setzer, the director of the auxiliary services department for Burke County Public Schools, cautioned that total might be conservative since no contingency costs are included in the estimate.

The main portion of the school was built in 1929, with additions in 1950 and 1955 totaling 17,200 square feet. An annex building constructed in 1955 and added on to in 1968 totals 11,000 square feet and the freestanding gymnasium built in 1991 totals 4,200 square feet. The total facility area is 32,300 square feet.

A presentation by the auxiliary services department during Monday's school board work session said, in summary of the building inspection, that while the facility has been well-maintained and served the community well for decades, modifications to the school to ensure long-term safety and use will be extensive.

Stated immediate needs include work to the exits, vertical circulation system, installation of a fire suppression system and replacement of toilet facilities. For the long-term use of the facility, replacement of the boiler, kitchen and electrical systems is necessary.

The need for a decision on renovations at RCES comes five months after the school board decided to close Chesterfield Elementary School and reassign its students.

The more thorough examination of Rutherford College was precipitated by the school system's mandatory five-year facility study and a requested study by the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction of the county's oldest school buildings. NCDPI sent a follow-up letter from that study about RCES suggesting the retention of an engineering firm to study the building.

While BCPS Superintendent Larry Putnam was able to give assurance in August there is no imminent danger at the building, the school board now is giving consideration to the building's short- and long-term feasibility.

Before making a decision, however, the school board wants to hear from the community. Therefore, a public meeting has been scheduled at the school for next Monday at 6:30 p.m. in the gym. That will follow up the school board's regular meeting at 5 p.m. at the Olive Hill Resource Center. Putnam also said he will meet with the staff at RCES to present them the facts before the public meeting.

According to the auxiliary services department report, the following issues exist:

» Currently, aside from plaster walls and ceilings, fire protection of the school's wood framing does not exist. The school's boiler room is located beneath the 1929 portion of the main building and appropriate fire protection to separate that area of the school from the rest of building does not exist. The presence of the boiler system instead of HVAC also is a concern after a boiler overheated at Mull Elementary in 2013.

» The school also does not have a sprinkler system. An NFPA 13-sprinkler system for all interior spaces of the building is needed. The building has smoke detectors, horns and strobe lights and pull boxes throughout, but many of those do not meet ADA mounting heights. It is uncertain if the current fire alarm system would be able to accommodate additional devices.

» For new construction, classrooms must have emergency escape windows no higher than 32 inches above floor level for elementary grades unless a classroom door opens directly to the outside and the building has a sprinkler system. All windows in the main building are 46 inches above floor level and located above the steam radiator system.

» By code, all exits to the building are supposed to discharge at a grade, but fewer than 50 percent of exits at RCES do so. Modifications to these exits will be necessary to meet requirements. Accessibility at the school is a concern as schools with multiple levels are required to have an elevator. However, for access in the main building to the basement cafeteria, an elevator does not exist.

» According to building codes, the school's mechanical system of heating by steam radiators and cooling by window air conditioning units does not provide adequate air exchange for ventilation. The use of steam radiators also does not allow for proper temperature control. The boiler plant needs to be replaced with another plant at another location to meet code. Additionally, the mechanical system needs to be replaced with separate variable air volume package units for each building.

» Existing plumbing fixtures need immediate replacement because they do not meet building codes or ADA requirements. Most of them are galvanized pipe and need to be replaced with copper. Codes require handicap accessible handles for faucets and elongated toilet seats, which are not present at the school. Current bathroom stalls do not meet handicap accessible heights and are considered to be too narrow for good accessibility. Additionally, no floor drains are present in the bathrooms, despite the fact such drains have been in building codes since 1980. Current code requires at least one floor drain for every restroom with two or more flushing fixtures. Currently, the toilets at RCES are not provided with any exhaust ventilation as required by code.

» The school currently has an electrical system with about half the capacity of a typical school. The limitations of the electrical system decrease the opportunities for the school system to make upgrades or replacements to existing systems because the additional load could not be handled.

» Rutherford College's roof does not have any metal anchors to attach the rafters to supporting walls, which was done because construction in the era only considered holding the roof up and counting on the roof's dead weight to hold it down. There are no metal connectors or screws between the wood members and their supports. Areas of original wood sheathing are damaged and no blocking exists between vertical studs that support areas of roof joists. Some roof support members are fewer than 1 ½-inches thick and many of those are bowed. A valley roof beam is unsupported. Irregularities can be seen in the exterior of the roof from outside the building. There also is no insulation in the attic.

» In the school's crawlspace, floor joists and sheathing are rotten from moisture exposure. In some areas, plumbing pipes were installed through floor joists. Some areas of the wood floor joists are located closer than 18 inches to exposed ground and construction there must be done with treated wood.

» In the cafeteria, the dining room is approximately 900 square feet in floor area, not counting the kitchen preparation area. That space only accommodates about 60 students at a time. The dining area could be doubled in size to 1,800 square feet to allow seating for 120 students with a 3,200-square-feet addition.

That addition also would house the kitchen, main electrical room, sprinkler riser room and boiler/chiller room. The addition also would contain the food serving line, food preparation and cooking area, dishwasher, dry storage, walk-in freezer and cooler, staff locker and kitchen offices. A new single-story addition would allow for code compliance for kitchen exhaust hoods and makeup air rooftop units. The addition also would allow for the installation of an elevator connecting the upper floor hallway to the cafeteria below.

The approximate renovation costs would be broken down to $4,273,117 for the main building, $1,142,744 for the annex building and $113,390 for a total of $5,529,251.

The capacity of the school is 232 and 190 students currently are enrolled there, approximately 40 of whom are transfers. Those numbers do not include pre-K, which serves about 20 children. Setzer said the multi-building campus at RCES is a concern. The classrooms at the school are 630 square feet, whereas all classrooms in school buildings constructed since 1995 are at least 850 square feet, said architect John Cort. If the classrooms at Rutherford College are expanded to meet that recent standard, classrooms would be lost and the capacity would be decreased, he said.

School board chairman Randy Burns said he was concerned about spending a quarter of the cost of the new Mountain View Elementary School, which will serve 800 students, on a 90-year-old school building that serves a quarter as many students. He said he couldn't see himself voting to do so, but said he would reserve judgment until he hears from the public next Monday. But Burns also said he felt it was important to put the best interests of the students ahead of school building nostalgia.

Board member Buddy Armour said even if the school board wanted to spend the money to renovate RCES, he doesn't think the board can afford it. The school system doesn't have that much money in its fund balance and can't take on anymore debt service until the two newest high schools are paid off in about 2026. Cort added the cost breaks down to $250 per square foot to get the school in a manageable condition that meets the current code.

Concern also was raised because information released by the state suggests that school systems lose money on smaller schools. BCPS Finance Officer Keith Lawson said that schools with fewer than 450 students typically do not break even and must be supported with alternative funding.

Cort said it would be necessary to do thorough code vetting and approval by the state department of insurance to make sure the renovations make the building compliant. To help ensure that, everything in the estimate has been priced as new, Cort said.

Cort said it would take longer than a three-month summer to complete all the renovations, which Armour said means students would have to be relocated, at least temporarily. Valdese Elementary School was suggested by the board as a possibility because of its proximity and the fact it is in the same Heritage Middle and Draughn High feeder pattern as RCES.

Valdese also has enough classroom and pre-K space. Setzer said that despite being considerably larger, Valdese is about twice as efficient in terms of utilities costs. The school building is one level and has more modern heating, cooling and ventilation, along with a new roof.

Rutherford College is the highest-performing elementary school in the county in terms of student proficiency. Valdese is the second-highest and had the highest test score growth last year. Putnam said the teachers are the most important factors in those areas, however. No teachers would be lost in the renovation or combination process because funding for teacher positions is awarded based on county enrollment.

No decisions were made and no action was taken concerning the school's future during the work session.

Justin Epley can be reached at jepley@morganton.com or 828-432-8943.