Rockingham board votes to build new elementary school

A new elementary school in Rockingham County is one step closer to reality.

In a Monday afternoon meeting, the Rockingham County Board of Education voted unanimously to build a new Douglass Elementary School as part of its Phase Three construction projects. The board also voted 10-1 to contract with Moseley Architects of Raleigh to design the new school using the footprint of Lincoln Elementary.

The design of the new elementary school is contingent upon the release of the school district’s frozen lottery funds to Rockingham County Schools. The Rockingham County Board of Commissioners must approve an officials’ request of the lottery funds to pay Moseley Architects to design Douglass Elementary. The Rockingham County Schools have already received lottery money for the property around Douglass Elementary School.

Gov. Beverly Perdue froze North Carolina school districts’ lottery funds earlier this year. Rocking-ham County Schools had approximately $3.7 million frozen, Associate Superintendent Bill Holcomb said at Monday’s board meeting. But the state allows school districts to request lottery funds under special circumstances that they “deem appropriate,” according to Holcomb.

Holcomb said moving forward with the design phase would put the school district in a better position to receive economic stimulus money for the construction project. Holcomb estimated a $12 million total cost of construction for Douglass Elementary. He estimated the cost to design the school will be between $500,000 and $600,000.

“We wish we could go back to the four projects that were first listed in Phase Three, but our economic condition right now does not allow that,” Holcomb said.

The four projects in the third phase of construction projects are Douglass Elementary, Draper Elementary, Stoneville Elementary and Reidsville High School.

“We’re still looking at ways we can get design work done on the other three of them,” Rockingham County Schools Superintendent Rodney Shotwell said.

“I would like to see the other three schools handled in this fashion,” board member Tim Scales told Holcomb and Shotwell. “Just bring (a recommendation) back to us like you brought this one, so we can keep moving on with the building phase.”

High school graduations

SATURDAY’S SCHEDULE
• Rockingham County: 9 a.m., stadium
• Morehead: 9 a.m., auditorium
• Reidsville: 11 a.m., auditorium
• McMichael: 11 a.m., gymnasium

• Contact Baines at or 349-4331.