Bid process will not be used for GHS facelift

There are no plans to take bids on a proposed facelift to the front entrance at Gaffney High if funding is approved by the school board.

Spartanburg architects McMillan Smith are in the process of completing drawings for a new front entrance to the school. A design concept presented last September would involve adding pitched roofs over the main canopy and front entrance, a logo tower and low railings along the roof to give the school a more eye-catching appearance.

Cherokee Masonry would likely build the new brick front entrance as a change order in its current contract to repair all masonry defects at the school, finance director Jim Bridges said. Cherokee Masonry has worked on masonry problems at Gaffney High for the past two years. It is under contract with the district to replace almost all of the outside brick at the school for a maximum cost of $5 million.

The Cherokee County School Board has not made a decision yet on whether to move forward with the proposed Gaffney High front entrance design, school board chairperson Sandra Greene said. School trustees have approved the design concept but have not provided any money for the additional masonry work.

"We are waiting on cost estimates before we make a decision," Greene said.

Architects are expected to have the final drawings and cost estimates on the Gaffney High front entrance ready some time in April. A new Gaffney High front entrance would be an extra expense for the district because it was not included in a $10 million settlement last November reached with USF&G Surety bonding company and architects Martin, Boal, Anthony and Johnson, H2L Engineering President Robert Carter said. Cherokee Masonry tentatively expects to begin replacing the outside brick work at Gaffney High this summer.

"The settlement provides money to put Gaffney High back to the way it was originally designed," Carter said. "The bonding company considered the front entrance work an improvement because it is designed to give the school a more eye-catching appearance. If the project is approved, we would want to do the front entrance work first. This is the first thing visitors to the school are going to see."