New Hanover High School is getting ready to undergo much-needed structural repairs, but advocates for the school say it needs a full renovation.
Hanover AdvoCats Co-founders Kassie Rempel and Allison McWhorter recently presented information to the New Hanover County Board of Education and stressed the need for the over 100-year-old school to be given proper attention, following the board's recent discussion of structural repairs.
Assistant Superintendent of Operation Eddie Anderson said the district has been working with a structural engineer and architect to identify areas of concern as well as coming up with a plan to make structural repairs on the southwest corner of the main building.
Anderson said construction would be happening during the school year and many classrooms and offices would have to be relocated.
What are the areas of concern?
The area of focus currently is the southern facing wall of the building, specifically the southwest corner, but upon further examination from a structural engineer, the team found that there were more areas of concern across the southern wall. Three classrooms located on the corner on the first, second and third floors have already been relocated.
When the engineer removed sheetrock to assess the conditions of the building, Anderson said they found gaps in the interior walls from settlement and then they found the same conditions in many points across the southern wall. They also went into the crawlspace and saw that the building's footings on the southern-facing wall have settled.
Not only are the conditions of New Hanover's buildings outdated, but McWhorter said the state of New Hanover's buildings have been concerning when it comes to the safety of students and staff.
In addition to significant subsidence, which is gradual caving or sinking of an area of land, and structural concerns, McWhorter said sewer leaks, sagging ceilings, sinking floors, leaking windows and doors, outdated facilities and inadequate heating and cooling systems in parts of the building, and excessive mold are other areas of concern.
The schools' media center was last renovated in 1976 and has broken, immovable bookshelves as well as old, broken lighting and the original carpet, according to photos in a presentation from the AdvoCats to the school board. Laney High School and Hoggard High School, which were built around that time, received new media centers after New Hanover's was renovated.
Brogden Hall, which was completed in 1954, still has its original stadium seats, original steps, no restrooms upstairs, original lockers, original flooring, dysfunctional showers, outdated lighting, according to photos presented by the AdvoCats. They said there is also no running water at the concession stand, no refrigerator, no ability to serve hot food, and is located on the second floor, which poses accessibility issues.
According to the AdvoCats' presentation, Brogden Hall cafeteria is also located in the basement and has one kitchen sink to service 1,500 students and because the cafeteria is so small, the school has to have five lunch periods, each at 22 minutes.
The 13th and Ann practice field, the track and field locker rooms and the half-sized track also need repairs and updates.
According to a 2022 StarNews story, New Hanover had a major renovation in 1997, which was made possible by the bond that funded construction of Ashley High School.
The improvements included $3 million for repairs to Brogden Hall, track and field improvements and the addition of an elevator.
Under the same bond, Hoggard received $3.4 million for a new media center and science classrooms, among other improvements, and Laney received $2.7 million for a new arts complex.
In 1999, the school district paid to have a study done of the school, but no action was taken as a result of the study, although some quotes from the study said that "conditions are obvious ...," "facilities are in very poor condition" and "results show that the campus is deficient in almost all aspects."
"Are you waiting for a student to actually be seriously hurt or chronically ill to take action," McWhorter asked.
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What has been done so far?
A structural engineer and Monteith Construction conducted a visual evaluation of the southwest corner due to terracotta cracking and falling off of the building. Three classrooms located on the first, second and third floors on that corner of the main building have been closed and sheetrock has been removed from the West wall, which revealed that there were gaps in the interior walls from settlement.
With further examination and removal of sheetrock from other areas of the southern wall, the team found more gaps from settlement.
What happens next?
To fix the southwest corner, construction will install micropiles and remove and replace brick, but the process for the rest of the southern wall will take longer and will require removing all the sheet rock from the wall, securing the foundation, using pressure grouting to make repairs and cleaning crawl spaces as part of stabilization of foundation.
According to Anderson, the entire south-front-facing part of the building will have to be vacated, which will result in the closing of 15 classrooms and 12 offices, the front office, nurses room and teacher lounge.
The construction will be going on during the school year, so the entire front lawn of the main building will be closed and access to the main building will be through the east and west doors.
The school board voted to start the bond process for New Hanover High School through the county commissioners and voted to ask the commissioners to fund a comprehensive condition survey as well as set up a meeting to discuss it.
What's the cost?
In the 2023-24 capital budget, Anderson said that $575,000 and $470,000 was dedicated for repairs on the southwest corner of the building, but that operations will need more funding as the project is ongoing because the estimated amount for renovating New Hanover based on current information would be $90 million.
Rempel said that 25 years ago, when the 1999 study was completed, it would have cost about $15 million to fix the issues.
Advocating for New Hanover
Rempel and McWhorter have been meeting with school board members and county commissioners to advocate for the high school and its students and staff and said that now is the time to assess the overall needs of the the campus.
"At some point, you can't continue to do this," Rempel said.
Rempel said that without addressing the entirety of the issues, there will be many more constant repairs in an increasing scope and expense, students will be moving to competing, overcrowded schools and more students will feel overlooked, unimportant and unworthy.
At the time of New Hanover's founding in 1922, it was considered the largest high school in the state and had an all white population. Now, the demographics have changed as the school has a majority minority population, with nearly 50% of students being from minority backgrounds and 44% being white.
About 47.5% of students at the school are on free or reduced lunch, which is the highest percentage compared to Laney's 35%, Hoggard's 28% and Ashley's 20%.
Board member Stephanie Walker, who is a New Hanover alum, said that when she attended the school in the late 1980s and early 1990s it was not in great condition then, but she said that she didn't know why the school hasn't gotten the attention it deserves.
"We don't need to sugarcoat it anymore, New Hanover needs attention now," Walker said.
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