Wednesday, July 2, 2003

It has come to my attention that many of the residents of the Kedron/Crabapple elementary schools attendance areas believe the proposed completion date for the Crabapple building is before school starts in August 2003.

As a member of the Citizens Construction Advisory Committee I have never been told that the building would be open by the beginning of this fall's school year. The proposed completion date has been January 2004 from the first timeline we were given.

Thanks to the wisdom of our current school board, Mr. Klaus Darnell was hired to oversee the construction of all the new buildings and improvements made possible through our last bond issue and state funding. He and Mike Satterfield worked closely enough with the contractors that both Cleveland Elementary and Sara Harp Minter Elementary were completed just ahead of schedule for the beginning of the 2002-2003 school year.

They are continuing to work closely with the contractor and it appears there is the possibility that Crabapple may open in August 2003. However, our committee felt it would be prudent to reiterate that the planned opening date is still January 2004.

As we are all aware, this spring has brought an abnormal amount of rainfall and that has slowed construction somewhat. Yes, the roof is now completed and work on the inside can continue when it rains. However, it is essential that we have at least seven to 10 days of dry weather to be able to grade the site and will need another week to get the paving in place.

This may seem unimportant but when you consider the damage to the cars and buses which would get stuck in the mud delivering students plus the problems with the dirt and mud brought in on the new carpets, we see this is important. It is also a city and county requirement that the grading be done before the certificate of occupancy is given.

I can assure you that the contractor is doing all within his power and Mr. Darnell and Mr. Satterfield are cooperating fully with him in any way they can to expedite the completion of this project.

Remember that to open in August rather than January means the contractor will have shaved five months off the anticipated work time and that will take a miracle. I, for one, believe in miracles as well as the integrity of hard work of both the contractor and local personnel. I am asking that you please join me in hoping and praying that our excessive rain is over and that our teachers can get settled in before school opens in August.

Jenny McCurry

Fayetteville