York County schools report progress on Bruton roof, Tabb turf and Tabb additions

Mark Sherhart, the York County School Division associate director of capital plans, told the School Board on Feb. 10 that several campus construction and maintenance projects are moving forward despite weather delays.

Sherhart said the Bruton High School roof repair and coating project is “going well despite the weather,” with siding and most gutters and downspouts installed. He said the contractor is waiting for one 13-foot siding panel the supplier initially shipped at the wrong length and that the final edge coating remains weather-dependent.

The update put the Bruton work first because the roof and exterior work affect building weatherproofing and interior schedules. Sherhart said the project team and architect are also reviewing replacement signage and “some rusty ladders on the roof” taken out with the old siding.

At the secondary-school auditorium projects, Sherhart said project manager Michael Peveral had met with school staff and contractors, that auditorium curtains have been ordered and that the team is reviewing lighting and sound proposals and paint and carpet tile choices.

At Tabb High School, Sherhart reported crews had removed grass and topsoil and completed proof-roll testing before placing the stone base for an AstroTurf field. “They've located a couple of spots that need to be excavated, and they put in either sand or some other top of other, soil in those spaces and then compact it down again,” he said. The board heard the division combined the electrical work for the field lighting and the building lighting under one contractor to reduce mobilization and overhead costs.

On the Tabb High additions and renovations, Sherhart said geothermal test bores were drilled and tested, with bores reaching about 400 feet and telemetry used to measure heat dissipation from the closed-loop pipes. He said the division and the architect had reviewed geothermal well-field layout and LED lighting replacements and that purchasing was negotiating final design fees with a selected A/E firm.

Sherhart asked for questions after the presentation. No formal board action followed; the report was informational.

Why it matters: exterior and systems work affects building safety, instructional schedules and future capital budgets. The projects reported include both maintenance (Bruton roof) and capital additions (Tabb High), and decisions about contracting and scheduling can change overall costs and project timing.