MYRTLE BEACH, SC (WBTW) – A major, $21 million dollar project for Horry County Schools will be delayed a full school year.
The district announced Monday that the former Myrtle Beach Middle School, which is being converted into a new location for Myrtle Beach Elementary School, won’t be complete in time for the 2018-2019 school year.
Spokeswoman Lisa Bourcier said,” an ambitious construction timeline orginially had the project slated to be completed in time for the opening of the 2018-2019 school year. However, this timeline was revised due to the increased scope of the project to a full conversion, doubling the size of the project, as well as by the unexpected backorder of the water-cooled HVAC systems.”
The district decided to postpone the reconfiguration and relocation of teachers and students until the 2019-2020 school year.
“We needed more classrooms than the middle school had and that’s the main thing of the construction. But that’s not causing the delay,” said School Baord Chairman, Joe DeFeo. “A lot of the delay is the HVAC system is on back order and it’s not going to be done by opening day.”
Bourcier said the school will be ready next winter but district staff felt a mid-year move would be “extremely disruptive to elementary age students and their teachers.”
Myrtle Beach Primary, Myrtle Beach Elementary and Myrtle Beach Intermediate schools will all remain in their current grade configuration for the 2018-2019 school year and the “new” Myrtle Beach Elementary School will open for staff and students in August 2019.
