SOCASTEE, SC (WBTW) – The Horry County Schools Board of Education unanimously approved more than $2.5 million in funding Monday night for extra work on a new middle school in the Socastee area.
The money will support site work within the project – including soil remediation and site stabilization. Poor soil described as “soft to medium stiff sandy clay” prompted the need for the extra work.
News13 asked Horry County Schools Director of Facilities Mark Wolfe why a better price estimate for the work was not included in original proposals submitted to the district. Wolfe says the land for the middle school was not picked out when the proposals were due.
Design-Build teams were instructed to include a site work estimate based on the costs of other similar schools.
First Floor Energy Positive, the team chosen for the project, estimated site work on the new Socastee-area middle school would cost about $2.5 million. A geotechnical investigation later completed by Terracon Consultants, Inc. revealed the need for the soil remediation and site stabilization work.
Wolfe told News13 the money will come from a school contingency fund and offsite allowance funds.
The work will increase the overall cost of the Socastee-area middle school to nearly $43 million. The school is expected to open in 2017.
