CONWAY, SC (WBTW) – Five new or renovated schools in Horry County worked on this summer are ready for the first day of classes, but there is some minor work and a couple lingering issues left.
Wednesday will be the first day of classes for the brand new Socastee Middle School.
It’s one of those five buildings Horry County Schools raced to finish projects at this summer after they weren’t completed by August 1.
“All in all, yes, the buildings are virtually finished,” said Mark Koll, coordinator of design, engineering and sustainability for the HCS facilities department.
Firstfloor Energy Positive, which built the five newer schools, says all those punch list items have been completed at the five buildings. That includes security measures and lighting controls.
However, the HCS facilities department says preliminary testing has shown some problems for heating and cooling systems.
“There are some air distribution issues in the buildings,” Koll said. “None of that is really too concerning to us. It’s just a matter of where the air is going, how much is going into a corridor that should be actually going to a classroom.”
Firstfloor’s CEO says a lack of environmental data has prevented those systems from working at their best.
“What happened was the groundwater temperatures in the well field increased a couple of degrees, which makes the equipment less efficient,” said Robbie Ferris, president and CEO of Firstfloor.
Firstfloor has received national praise for building the five schools. The campuses were given the best project award for K-12 education in the Southeast by Engineering News-Record, a construction industry magazine.
Some school board members say Firstfloor was criticized too quickly after early summer delays became known.
“I think the way they were treated was not right, for lack of a better word,” said HCS board interim vice chair David Cox. “I just don’t think it was right.”
There are some items that Firstfloor is waiting to be delivered to the schools.
The remaining landscaping will also be done in October because Firstfloor says that’s the best time to plant before winter.
