It’s been eight months since funds were approved, and nearly two month since a $2.5M bid was accepted, but potential progress has stalled on the renovation and construction for Tharptown schools.

The Franklin County Board of Education has hit a roadblock that Superintendent Greg Hamilton can only describe as “frustrating.” The state building commission is stipulating that, rather than turning the old cafeteria into four new classrooms as the FCBOE has proposed, the renovation needs to include plans for a saferoom, which is required for all new construction according to updated codes, Hamilton said.

With this wrench in the plans, the FCBOE has been negotiating with the state to be exempt from this requirement – which Hamilton said he isn’t convinced applies to Tharptown, anyway, since the plan in question is a renovation and not new construction. In the meantime, the FCBOE has been instructed by the state building commission to divide the new cafeteria construction and the old cafeteria renovation into two separate projects and rebid the new cafeteria construction.

“It was approved, and then right before groundbreaking they told us we couldn’t do it,” Hamilton said. “Obviously we know now there’s no way we’ll have the classrooms or the lunchroom ready by the beginning of next fall. It’s frustrating. Since Day 1 in office I have continued on with the plans that were handed to me … It’s just frustrating to not be able to get started with the project.”

Hamilton said, in regards to the saferoom requirement, while safety is a priority, “we’re in dire need of classrooms, that’s for sure.”

“The money that was leveraged on this project when it was approved – this is all the money we have,” Hamilton said. “We want a safe room, but the money was not set aside for that when these four classrooms were (conceived).”

“I don’t understand why they stopped us.”

Hamilton said the school system will look at utilizing additional mobile units for fall 2017 until such time as new classrooms can be completed.

In the meantime, Hamilton said he expects all seven companies that originally bid on the entire job will big again on the separated project for the new cafeteria construction. RDT Enterprises originally won the bid Feb. 28.

Sealed bids will be opened April 20 and the school board will vote to accept a bid at the next meeting, May 2.