Board faults high school’s design

SMITHFIELD — The particulars of Wilson’s Mills High School are set; the school board in June signed a contract with the builder.

Still, “we ain’t all happy about the design,” board member Kay Carroll told Brooks Moore, the district’s construction chief, during a meeting last month. “It ain’t a perfect design.”

Carroll in particular found fault with windowless classrooms. “Interior classrooms are something that we should not be doing,” he said.

Carroll wasn’t alone in his critique of the school’s design.

“There are a lot of concerns by most of the board members about safety,” said board member Michelle Antoine. “Because right next to the front vestibule is this cafeteria where a large gathering is happening probably half if not two-thirds of the day.”

Unspoken was the fear that a gunman entering the vestibule would have easy access to many potential victims close by.

But that wasn’t Antoine’s only concern. “We have the library on top of the lunchroom,” she said, fretting about noise. “The classrooms don’t have windows, some of them, and the front door is kind of difficult to see.

“I don’t think any of us are particularly thrilled with the design.”

Antoine wondered aloud whether it would be possible to delay construction to give the architect time to address the board’s concerns. “For a building that’s going to be here and in use for 60 years plus, a three- or four-month delay doesn’t seem exceptional,” she said. “But we also want to get it opened in the fall” of 2026.

Carroll said the construction train had left the station. “We’re at a point right now where the horse is out of the barn,” he said.

But Carroll hoped Moore, the construction chief, had gotten the board’s message. “I would hope as we go forward, as we design any further new schools, that we would really look at what we’re doing,” he said.

Moore said the design had passed staff muster. “Every department in the school system has been a part of this process,” he said. “This has been shared many times with the safety officer, and there was a principal panel. They love the control that they have within this design.”

Carroll didn’t seem convinced. “We’ll see how it goes,” he said. “This community deserves a high school, and we want to deliver the best high school possible, so let’s hope it works.”

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