Design plans to begin for new school in Centertown
Now that a location has been finalized, architect Derrick Clemow says he can begin designing blueprints for the new school in Centertown.
School board members voted last week on the new school’s location, which will be about two miles closer to McMinnville on Nashville Highway and will be located on the other side of the road.
The school will be constructed near Cedarwood Nursery, known by many local residents for its Cedarwood Pumpkin Patch in the fall.
“Until we had the dimensions of the site, any type of design would have been premature,” said Clemow. “Our goal is to have plans completed and approved by the state fire marshal’s office by late summer.”
The Warren County Commission has agreed to allocate $6.5 million toward a new school with the school system absorbing a number of other costs, such as paying for the architect and geotechnical site testing.
Based on information Clemow has obtained, the new school will be 66,000 square feet. It will contain 13 classrooms for grades K-4, and 11 classrooms for grades 5-8. There is a significant amount of special-use space for a library, art room and gym.
The new school will have a capacity of roughly 600 students. Director of Schools Dr. Jerry Hale said 444 students is the most Centertown Elementary has ever had.
Clemow says arriving at a final design is an in-depth process. He said he needs to know what areas are expected to have carpet or tile, how many stalls and sinks are needed in the bathrooms, and what type of equipment will be needed in the cafeteria. That’s just to name a few specifics.
“It takes a lot of input from a lot of people,” said Clemow. “We’re just now beginning to take all the pieces, study them, and begin to put the puzzle together.”
If plans are approved and ground breaking begins in August, Clemow estimates a 16- to 18-month time frame for construction. That would put the projected completion date from December 2006 to February 2007.
Asked if he would consider moving students in mid school year, Hale said that has been done before.
“We did that at Hickory Creek and that worked well as far as the actual move,” said Hale. “Where we ran into a bit of a problem was combining students from Northside and William Biles together in one school. If we have the building ready in the middle of the year, it will be up to the board to decide.”