WCS OKs bid for Stoner Creek rebuild

Aug. 12—Tornado-damaged Stoner Creek Elementary School will be rebuilt to house 1,000 students after a vote Tuesday by the Wilson County Schools board.

There was only one bidder on the project, R.G. Anderson Inc. of Nashville. The base bid to rebuild the school to its current capacity of about 640 students was $23 million. To add two eight-classroom wings and raise the capacity to 1,000 students would add about $2.6 million to the cost, which does not include furniture, fixtures and equipment.

WCS Deputy Director Michael Smith said the cost per square foot at the base bid is $284, where if the wings are added, the cost is $258. He said including everything, he expects the school to cost the district just over $30 million.

WCS Director Jeff Luttrell emphasized to the board that building a 1,000-student elementary school has not been the district's practice, although Rutland Elementary School has about 1,000 students.

"Historically, we have been with smaller elementary schools," Luttrell said. "I am comfortable with it being a 1,000-student elementary school."

Stoner Creek Principal Amanda Smith noted that the school's enrollment this year is nearly 700.

"In the great scheme of things, 300 additional students doesn't seem like a whole lot more ... ," Smith said. "If we don't put this expansion on, you guys are sitting on building another school."

Smith told the board that of the approximately $54 million the district got in its insurance settlement for the damage to Stoner Creek and adjacent West Wilson Middle School in the March 3, 2020 tornado, about $44 million is left. In addition, the district is expecting about $8 million in Federal Emergency Management Agency funds, although that amount is in flux.

The expected completion date for the school is Sept. 30, 2022.

Luttrell also got permission from the board to explore locating the portable classroom buildings the district has purchased closer to West Wilson Middle, where the Stoner Creek students are using the gym. The buildings, which are going to create a "Bobcat Village" for Stoner Creek students are currently planned to be located closed to the elementary school. The first of the 20 buildings the district ordered are expected to begin arriving next week, Luttrell said.

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