As members of the Caldwell County Board of Education continue to search for ways to build a state-of-the-art middle school, their attention now turns to ways to save money.

Caldwell County Schools Superintendent Dr. Steve Stone said school board members have been actively engaged in the design process since Day 1. He said school board members have expressed approval on the preliminary designs that have been developed but have made several changes along the way. Stone said the goal has been to build a school that will meet the level of growth seen in the Hibriten High School district but that doesn’t have too much wasted space. He said school board members want to provide students with a top-rated education that will help them compete with the ever-changing job market. But, he also said that the school board doesn’t want to spend unnecessary money.

“As a whole, the Caldwell County School Board has always prided itself on being good stewards of the taxpayers’ money,” Stone said. “We want to offer our students the most options that we can, but we are always looking for ways to find the best price possible. As we continue to move forward with this new middle school, I can say with confidence that this school board is dedicated to find ways to cut costs without cutting quality.”

To help members of the facilities committee and the school board develop their formal presentation, Stone said they are reaching out to other school systems.

Most recently, members of the school board, the facilities committee and several Caldwell County commissioners traveled to Lincoln County to see its newest middle schools. They visited North Lincoln Middle School, which was built in 2007, and Lincolnton Middle School, which was built in 2006. Their goals, Stone said, were to share ideas with Lincoln County school officials and to come away with ideas that would improve the school’s design.

“First and foremost, let me say this was an excellent trip and time well-spent,” Stone said. “We spent a lot of time talking with their staff about the decisions they made and if they would have done anything different. I certainly think we heard a lot of interesting ideas from them, and those are recommendations we are going to take seriously. We want to share those ideas with the rest of the board and encourage our facilities committee to share these ideas with the architect to see how we can incorporate them into our plan.”

Among those recommendations was the installation of individual HVAC systems in each classroom. Stone said this idea saved Lincoln County nearly $1 million and gave teachers some control of the temperature. He also said he liked the idea of building a single steel structure because it would provide flexibility as programs change and grow. He said the use of non-load-bearing walls throughout the interior of the school allows them to be easily moved as needed.

Another project that members of the school board said they liked was the use of natural light in the common areas. Mike LaBrose, school board member, said he liked how the windows were used to brighten the media center, gymnasium and cafeteria. He also liked the way North Lincoln separated its car riders and bus riders to design an efficient pick-up and drop-off system.

School Board member Dottie Darsie shared those sentiments, adding that she stands by the school board’s efforts to include an auditorium in the plan. She said North Lincoln chooses to use its gymnasium for musical performances because it can hold the entire student body, or it caN use the auditorium at North Lincoln High School. She said they also built a stage in the cafeteria that can be used for smaller performances, but school officials told her that it takes a lot of time to set it up; and it only holds 300 people. She said she still believes that an auditorium should be included in the plan, especially with how important the cultural arts are to this community.

“I came away from this visit standing by our commitment to include an auditorium at the school,” Stone said. “If the school is going to be known for its cultural arts, I believe there needs to be a performance center for them. I think this auditorium can be used for a variety of purposes, and I think we need to do it right the first time.”

Stone said the plan now is to take this information to the board members who were not able to make the trip and to the facilities committee so they can talk with the architect. He said the goal is to incorporate as many ideas as possible and then bring the plan back to the school board. He also said the school system is planning a trip to visit middle schools in Yadkin County to see if they can generate any other cost-saving measures.

“These trips are providing us with a last-minute look at ways to save money,” Stone said. “We have been refining our plans for years, and this is just another step in the right direction. I think we remain on schedule to make our formal presentation in April and move forward from there.”