CHARLESTON, W.Va. – The West Virginia School Building Authority will hear requests from more than 30 counties for grants under the state’s “Needs” program over the next two days, with proposals ranging from new roofs to expansion and large-scale renovations.
As part of the interviews for the “Needs” grants, county superintendents are given ten minutes to present their proposals to the SBA, with funding requests ranging from less than $400,000 to more than $16 million. One of the larger requests comes from Cabell County, which is seeking upwards of $6 million to build a new roof on the Woody Williams Center for Advanced Learning and Careers.
The Woody Williams Center is a soon-to-open, bond-funded project to turn the former Sears store at the Huntington Mall into the county’s new career and technical center.
“While it did not have the roof in the project when it went out, due to all of the construction and being on the roof, it certainly needs replacing,” Cabell County Superintendent Tim Hardesty said.
Hardesty said that if the county receives the grant, it will protect the public’s investment.
“This would ensure the safety of the project. It keeps the facility safe, secure; all of the equipment and the investment that we’re making through our public tax dollars, and it will absolutely secure that building for years to come,” he said.
Other projects up for consideration touch all aspects of school infrastructure, like new classrooms, expanded offices, and increased school safety. Several counties are seeking funds to improve HVAC systems, like Mingo County, which hopes to renovate the system at Lenore PK-8 School.
“The HVAC is the original that was put in in 2002, so it lacks automated controls, and we have dehumidification issues with it, as well as temperature issues,” Mingo County Superintendent Dr. Joetta Basile said.
The Mingo County proposal indicates that because of the malfunctioning system, the county has been forced to rent industrial dehumidifiers, which is just one of the measures that has had to be taken.
“We’ve had to move students out of some of the spaces to other areas in the school and things, and we keep the dehumidifiers running continuously. We’re doing everything we can to keep kids safe and healthy and in a good environment,” Basile said.
SBA Executive Director Andy Neptune said in September that the SBA received more than $170 million in grant requests and has approximately $43.5 million to give out this year. Grant recipients will be announced on December 15.