CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Superintendents from 31 county school districts will make their best pitches for funding when they appear before the state School Building Authority Monday and Tuesday in Charleston.
The SBA is in its annual process of granting funding for “NEEDs grants.”
SBA Executive Director Andy Neptune said the total requests from the 31 counties are for more than $170 million. He said the SBA has $43.5 million to hand out.
“There are a lot of good projects and how we’re going to come to a final decision on that is going to be tough for sure,” Neptune told MetroNews.
Several of the 31 projects have to do with the replacement of HVAC systems or putting new roofs on school buildings.
“A lot of that is age-related,” Neptune said.
The SBA is also seeing requests from some counties that are making renovations to some existing buildings where space is available because of dropping enrollment. Several counties have voted to close schools and send students to existing schools.
Each superintendent will get a 10-minute interview before the SBA Monday or Tuesday.
“It’s a good Q and A time for authority members to the superintendents,” Neptune said. “They (superintendents) can really drive home their need and hopes to be able to get funding for their county.”
Neptune said all of the projects are good but some need funding sooner.
“You have to kind of distinguish the difference–sometimes there are wants and sometimes there are needs so you have to dig deep into those,” he said.
The SBA will announce its funding decisions at its Dec. 15 meeting.
Some of the proposed projects include:
–Logan County Schools makes request for $5.8 million to replace the HVAC system at Man High School.
–Morgan County Schools has a need for $4.4 million for roof replacements at Warm Springs Intermediate and Warm Springs Middle School.
–Berkeley County Schools is asking for $16.1 million for addition projects at Hedgesville High and Rosemont Elementary.
–Raleigh County Schools is seeking more than $13 million to complete Phase III of renovations of Woodrow Wilson High School. The county has $14 million of local money to match SBA funding.
–Mason County school officials are requesting $3.2 million from the SBA to expand the Diesel Tech Program at the county’s career and technical center.
–Taylor County is asking for just more than $5 million for interior and exterior renovations at Grafton High School.