Facilities
Replacing old buildings at Bethware and
Grover elementary schools would cost about
$2 million, Superintendent Bob McRae told
members of the board of education at their
regular monthly meeting Monday night at
the administration office.
The board completed its discussion of
elementary facility needs and next month
will discuss Central Middle School. In upcom-
ing meetings, the board will wind up its facili-
ty discussions with the junior and senior high
schools.
Total facility needs for the system’s five
elementary schools are about $4.5 million,
McRae reminded the board. The board
discussed the needs of North, East and West
schools at last month’s meetings.
Bethware and Grover, both located out of
the city limits and acquired through con-
solidation in 1961, have some of the older
school buildings in Cleveland County. In fact,
McRae said, the old building at Grover which
houses the auditorium and four music and
academically talented classrooms, is the
oldest school building in the county that is
still being used. It was built in 1915 and the
top story of it burned in 1951.
McRae said the old building at Bethware
which houses the gymnasium, auditorium
and six classrooms needs to be replaced. The
building was constructed in 1925 and
renovated in 1936 and 1950. He estimated that
replacing the building with a multi-purpose
building which would include a gymatorium
would cost $1,146,600.
Bethware, he pointed out, is the system’s
largest elementary school. The enrollment is
down this year to 435 students.
Bethware has no space problems now,
McRae noted, but if the sixth grades were
moved back to elementary schools in the
near future, there would be a need for five ad-
ditional classrooms, adding about $300,000 to
the building costs. McRae said Bethware
would have 521 students if the sixth grade
was there this year.
“The site is good size,” McRae said, poin-
ting out that the campus contains 14.7 acres.
“Bethware has good buildings except for the
age of the older building. I feel like that’s the
age building we need to get out of.”
Grover, he said, has the largest campus of
any elementary school in the system. Its 20
acres is seven more than the state recom-
mends. Its enrollment is also down this year.
McRae proposes replacing the old 1915
building mentioned above, and also the
building which houses the principal’s office,
library and storage areas. :
“These buildings have needed replacing
for a long time,’ he said. ‘The people of
Study
Grover have done a good job to be in them
this long.” :
“The space is inadequate,” he said. ‘I
would suggest replacing the two buildings
with one and construct a multi-purpose type
building with some physical education space
in it, rather than just an auditorium.”
McRae said Grover’s 351 students don’t
have any space problems in the 14
classrooms, but if the sixth grade was moved
back to Grover, it would need an additional
classroom.
McRae estimated the cost of replacing the
two Grover buildings at $729,300.
“So far, we’ve just dealt with replacing ob-
solete buildings” at the five elementary
schools, McRae told the board. ‘‘There are
many other buildings that need renovating.
“It would take $4.5 to $5 million just to
replace the obsolete buildings on the five
elementary campuses,’ he said. ‘‘That’s a lot
of money, but the longer we wait, the more
money it will take.”
Next month’s facility discussion, about
Central, will take a different format, McRae
aid, Decause there will be several options to
ook at.
“There will be additional options rather
than building on that campus,’ he said. ‘‘Per-
sonally, I feel Central needs to be discon-
tinued as far as use by students.”
In a matter which relates to building,
McRae told the board that after this school
year the system will not receive its share of
the two one-half cents sales taxes on a per
pupil basis as has been the case in the past.
The county commissioners, he said, have the
option of appropriating those funds on a per
pupil basis, or on what they see as the
county’s biggest school facility need.
“‘In November, the county commissioners
agreed that the Boiling Springs Elementary
School is the number one facility need in the
county and made a moral committmen{ to
replace that fa7ility,” McRae told the Lived.
“We don’t argue with their right to maXkiha#
decision, but we do urge them not to limit
their focus on doing their most urgent
need...but to consider the needs of all the
systems.”
McRae said he feels that the need of replac-
ing Central is as great as any need in the
county. Central, built in the 1920’s, is a three-
story facility which does not meet the govern-
ment regulations of serving the physically
handicapped students.
McRae predicted that Kings Mountain
would lose $160,000 to $170,000 if the sales tax
Ponies are not distributed on a per pupil
asis.
Ministers
To Ring
For Needy
Members of the Kings Mountain
Ministerial Association are
preparing for their annual bell-
ringing project which will benefit
area needy families through the
association’s Helping Hand Fund.
Rev. Graham Wood, chairman of the
project, said ministers will be in front
of Harris Teeter, TG&Y and Winn Dix-
ie from 1-7 p.m. on December 11, 12
and 13, and December 18, 19 and 20 to
accept donations from the public.
Citizens will recognize those persons as Helping Hand
fund-raisers by a bell, which they will be ringing, and
a bucket in which citizens may place their donations.
The Helping Hand Fund provides groceries and
other necessities to needy families in the Greater
Kings Mountain area throughout the year.
Bell
l— 2
TOYS FOR TOTS MAKE
“Tis The Season To Help
Your Neighbor In Need
The Christmas season of
giving is here and local
citizens can help ‘others
through various projects
underway by churches, civic
groups and schools.
People That Love Center on
North Piedmont Avenue has
the names of 40 children
whose Christmas will not be
merry without the donations
"of caring people, says Wanda
Kyle, Director. Mrs. Kyle
said that the Center badly
needs staple food items,
warm winter clothes,
blankets, and good toys, in
addition to fruits, nuts, and
candy for Christmas sharing
with the less fortunate. Mrs.
Kyle is also accepting gifts of
money which will be used to
purchase new toys and fuel
and food for the area needy.
Mrs. Kyle said that all dona-
tions are tax-deductible and
that all gifts, large or small,
will be appreciated. Mrs.
Kyle said that the Center has
helped many families during
the Thanksgiving season and
“someone is always at our
door who needs help during
this busy holiday season’’ she
added.
~ Ministers in the Greater
Kings Mountain Ministerial
Association are ringing bells
in the shopping district for
benefits of the Helping Hand
project which provides year-
round Christmas cheer in the
form of fuel and staple foods
for the needy. Rev. Graham
Wood, chairman of the pro-
ject, said ministers will be in
front of Harris Teeter, TG&Y
and Winn Dixie from 1-7 p.m.
on Thursday, Friday and
Saturday, and Dec. 18,19 and
20 to accept donations from
the public. Citizens will
recognize those persons as
Helping Hand fund-raisers by
. a bell, which they will be
ringing, and a bucket in
which citizens may place
their donations.
Operation Toys for Tots by
the Kings Mountain Fire
Department is off to a good
start and the Toy House in the
Fire Department is bulging
with toys donated by local
citizens. Firemen are re-
questing new or good, used,
repairable toys which they
will distribute prior to
Christmas Eve to area needy
children.
Operation Santa Claus,
sponsored by the Cleveland
County Mental Health
Association, has received
good response from shoppers
who choose an ornament
representing a mentally han-
dicapped person and buy
gifts for that person by using
the list on the back of the or-
nament. The unwrapped gifts
are then returned to the tree
CHRISTMAS
BRIGHTER—Fireman Bud Ware stands in
the midst of a Christmas Toy House built by
local firemen to house Toys for Tots which
ben
Christmas Eve
with the ornament. The un-
wrapped gifts are then
returned to the tree with the
ornament. As an added incen-
tive, Roses, J.C. Penney,
Belk and Hudson’s, give 10
percent discount to ‘Love
Tree’’ shoppers.
Collection boxes have also
been placed in businesses
throughout the county for
gifts for patients at
Broughton Hospital or
Western Carolina Center.
The Cleveland County Red
Cross Chapter and local fire
departments are ar-
ticipating in WSOC-TV Chan-
nel 9’s “Cover With Love”
project which seeks dona-
tions of new or clean blankets
to help the needy and
homeless keep warm this
winter. In this area there are
collection boxes at Grover
efit the area needy this Christmas. The
toy collection is continuing by firemen who
are repairing bicycles to be presented on
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VOL. 99 NUM BE 274
; BER 30 WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 10, 1986 KINGS MOUNTAIN, N = =
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Board Cont e HEE
. ~
ontinues z
0
by Santa Claus.
Fire Department and Kings
Mountain Fire Department.
At Kings Mountain Senior
High School, the Student
Council is gearing up for its
biggest collection of canned
goods ever, according to Dan-
ny Hamrick, president.
Students are encouraged to
ask their parents to do some
extra shopping and canned
foods are to be collected by
December 19th, the last day
of school before the holidays.
Dean Westmoreland is spon-
sor.
The KMSHS Beta Club, of
which Kammie Wiggins is
president, is sponsoring an
Operation Santa Claus pro-
ject for the needy. Toys are to
e collected and brought to
school by Dec. 19th. Club
Turn To Page 8-A
Auditors Say KM School
Fund Balance Is Dropping
Auditors Steve Wade and
Mike Gray told the Kings
Mountain Board of Education
Monday night that the
system’s fund balance could
become a problem in the near
future.
Gray pointed out that the
fund balance at the end of the
1985 school year was $900,000,
but at the end of the 1986
school year had dropped to
just over $600,000.
“It’s not a problem now,
but the fund balance is a
cushion for future additions
or unexpected
expenditures,” he told the
board. “It needs to stabilize
or increase over the next few
years so you can have a com-
fort level.”
In discussing the recently-
completed audit of funds,
Gray told the board that he
had issued a ‘qualified’ opi-
nion of the school system’s
financial record-keeping,
rather than an ‘‘unqualified”’
opinion which indicates a
clean opinion. He said there
were some problems that
new superintendent Bob
McRae and new financial of-
ficer Tim Echols are now
aware of and that they are
working toward correcting.
“Tim has moved into a
tough position,” Gray said.
“Next year, things are going
to be better. Mr. McRae’s
come in and has a good staff.
I’m impressed.”
Gray said the school
system has taken a giant step
toward correcting financial
losses in the school food ser-
vices department. He said
the net loss for 1985 was
$108,000, but the system had
cut the net loss at the end of
the 1986 school year to $5,800.
“The situation is improv-
ing,” he said. ‘I understand
that so far this year that
school food services is
operating in the black.”
Hk
Later in the meeting, new
School Food Services Direc-
tor Stella Ware presented the
board with a three-months
financial statement which
showed her department with
a profit for the year. McRae
said a three-month financial
report was given this month
because schools operated on-
Turn To Page 3-A
January 1.
Herald Subscription Rates
To Go Up On January 1
Due to the increase in second class postage rates the
yearly subscription rate of the Kings Mountain Herald
will be $12.00 a year beginning Jan. 1. Out of state rates
will be $13.00 per year. Anyone wishing to renew their
subscription at the present rate may due so until
LS el