Subcommittee recommends standardized school security vestibules, asks county and school boards to amend bond budgets

The Transylvania County Schools bond subcommittee voted to recommend scope additions that include a standardized security vestibule prototype for all district schools and to ask both governing boards to amend project budgets to cover the added costs.

The recommendation centers on a prototype vestibule the design team and school principals developed. "The total cost for the new prototype ... is four and a half million dollars," Dr. Fletcher, who led the prototype presentation, said. The prototyped vestibules are intended to create a single controlled entry at each school, separate student and visitor flows, increase visibility for staff and school resource officers, and include built‑in security features.

County Manager Jamie Lauder summarized staff's funding plan, saying existing savings can be reallocated to absorb some of the additions. He said staff identified roughly $1.22 million in savings from a storage‑tank scope and about $657,780 available from a retaining‑wall budget, totaling roughly $1.9 million available to offset new needs. Including the vestibule allowance (about $4.5 million) and other scope changes, staff said implementing everything would require about $5.4 million in total; after reallocations the remaining balance would be just under $2.2 million, which staff recommended be covered from the education capital fund balance.

Project staff and the design team described other scope changes that together produce a net increase to the program: previously unseen needs such as additional air‑handling units at Rosman High School, structural work for stairstep cracking, and retaining‑wall repairs. Beecher Allison, the education capital project manager, said obtaining full drawings revealed additional air‑handling requirements and other conditions that were not evident during initial scoping. "Everything to date has been on schedule and under budget for the original scopes of work," Allison said while presenting the spreadsheet of additions and deductions.

Subcommittee discussion centered on whether deferred work (notably at Davidson River School) would create later structural problems and on staff providing per‑school counts and costs for added air‑handling units; Allison agreed to supply per‑school totals. Committee members repeatedly noted that items moved to be covered by grants (for example, CTE grant work at Brevard High School) reduce bond costs for other scopes.

The subcommittee approved the staff recommendation by voice vote and will forward the package to the Board of Education and the Board of Commissioners for final budget amendments and scope approvals. The motion approved the following four actions presented by staff: approve scope additions and deductions; add the vestibule prototype to project scopes; recommend both governing boards amend the project budgets to reflect the changes; and approve the revised timeline showing staggered bid and start dates.

The transcript records a voice vote in favor; no roll‑call tally was recorded in the meeting transcript. Staff recommended the boards allow up to 5% movement between scopes with concurrence of the superintendent and county manager to provide flexibility during bidding and construction. The subcommittee also requested follow‑up information from staff, including a per‑school breakdown of added air‑handling units and costs.

Next steps: the subcommittee will ask both governing boards to consider the recommended scope and budget amendments in their upcoming meetings (staff requested June for returning to the boards). If both boards approve, bidding and sequencing would proceed as outlined by staff.