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School leaders allocate $20,000 to complete SMHS field house

No objections raised to ad-based ZapMe! computer program

By Lynn Hotaling

Local school officials voted Monday (Dec. 13) to allocate another $20,000 to the Smoky Mountain High School field house project.

The additional funds, to be taken from the schools' fund balance, should be enough to complete the project, said school system construction coordinator Clarence Hubbell.

The exterior of the field house, designed free of charge by Spartanburg architect and former Sylva-Webster football standout Ronnie Smith, was completed more than a year ago with some $200,000 budgeted from state bond money.

School board members last summer allocated $125,000 in ADM money to complete the interior of the facility so it could be used for weight-lifting classes during the spring 2000 semester. County commissioners narrowly approved the county match for those field house funds.

Hubbell anticipated that $125,000 would complete the job. Plans were to use as much volunteer labor as possible and hire local sub-contractors as necessary.

Additional funds are now required, Hubbell said, because of rulings by auditors that any portion of the job that costs more than $10,000 must to be put out for bids if the school system oversees completion of the building.

To expedite completion, school officials decided to bid the remainder of the project and secure the services of one contractor to complete the building. S&M of Hayesville was low bidder, Hubbell said. In another pending matter Monday, school board members raised no objections to student use of ZapMe! computers at SMHS. Acquired through a grant last year, the free computers are not yet in use, said Superintendent Frank Burrell.

Concerns surfaced recently due to the constant advertising message displayed on the computer screen and the marketing information furnished to ZapMe!'s researchers.

Consultant Bill Miller of Western Region Educational Services Alliance told board members that he felt ZapMe! was a positive step for the school because of the excellent educational sites it offers students. Superintendent Burrell said school administrators are comfortable with the level of filtering available through the ZapMe! server.

Back to Archive: 12-16-99.