Building plan includes football stadiums at RNE, Ridge View high schools

Two elementary schools would be rebuilt and two high schools — Richland Northeast and Ridge View — would get their own football stadiums under a facilities plan being considered by Richland District 2 officials.

The district school board, which discussed the plan in a workshop last week, plans to vote on it on Tuesday.

The plan recommends that the board submit a two-part question to voters in a Nov. 6 bond referendum. First, voters would be asked to allow the district to borrow $380.7 million for safety/security and academic improvements at nearly every district school.

Voters also would be asked to approve borrowing an additional $86.4 million for stadiums and field houses at the two high schools and a district fine arts auditorium. Richland 2’s other three high schools already have football stadiums on their campuses. Blythewood shares its stadium with Ridge View, and Spring Valley shares Harry Parone Stadium with Richland Northeast.

If voters approve both questions, most homeowners would pay an extra $40 a year in property taxes for each $100,000 of their home’s value. For example, the owner of a $200,000 home would pay an extra $80.

The plan calls for replacing the current buildings at Bethel-Hanberry and Forest Lake elementary schools. The new schools would be built at the same locations by mid-2022.

Initially, board members voted unanimously in May to approve a 10-year, $703 million facilities plan. But people who attended several community focus groups raised concerns about undertaking such a large investment. Superintendent Baron Davis then recommended that the district put off several of the longer-term projects. Among the plans delayed were construction of a sixth high school and another elementary school by early 2027. Also, a proposed district natatorium was scrapped.

“We wanted to try and assess from them what was the threshold that they would be willing to accept when it comes to funding and updating our facilities,” Davis said of the focus groups.

“Folks felt like that was a little much, but we got more support for $500 million of funding. But many still had some concerns about the money, but not nearly as many as were concerned by the $700 million,” Davis said.

The new plan calls for spending $289 million for securing entrances and funding maintenance and many schools as well as replacing the two elementary schools. Portions of E.L. Wright Middle School would be replaced as well.

It also provides money for an additional academic house at Blythewood High School by mid-2021 that would reduce the need for portable classrooms, a priority for Blythewood Principal Matt Sherman.

“Priority right now would be safety and security,” Sherman said after last week’s board workshop. “I’ve got 20 portables in the backyard, and that’s 20 smaller communities of learners and their teachers outside of my building, and that scares me to death.”

The plan also calls for spending:

▪ $60 million for developing more collaborative learning spaces across district elementary schools and improving existing magnet programs through the construction of performance and visual arts spaces to better accommodate specialized curricula.

▪ $25 million for technology improvements.

▪ $7 million for transportation purposes, with a priority of purchasing new activity buses that also could be used when the district has a shortage for regular, daily student transportation.

The facilities report notes that Richland 2, which now has 27,252 students in K-12, expects to add about 1,650 students during the next 10 years.

Board Chairwoman Amelia McKie supported the plan, particularly its emphasis on improving safety.

“We just didn’t have a lot of these concerns decades ago when I was in school,” McKie said.

The board has a public meeting scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at the district’s Institute of Innovation, 763 Fashion Drive.