At Thursday night's county school board workshop, board member Lisa Russell turned to the Rev. Ron Sabo of Greenback so he could ask questions about the repair work being done at Greenback School. Sabo has children at the school and has been a vocal proponent of building a new facility.

Jason Johnson of Hodge Associates, the engineering and architectural firm in charge of determining the problems at the school and, along with Buckhead Construction, fixing them to the specifications of the state fire marshal's office, also attended the meeting but he cautioned the board members that he couldn't speak for Buckhead Construction in some areas.  

Sabo asked Johnson several questions about specific problems including a faulty truss in the gymnasium roof, a cracked chimney that must be removed and the problems caused by improper drainage around the entire facility. Sabo also expressed concern about how much classroom time Greenback students have lost this year and how much more time they will lose if the repairs are done during school hours. He pointed out this week is the first full week since Christmas break for Greenback students. 

Johnson said the problem with the gym roof was not caused by water damage but was a sheer failure.

The work to take down the chimney was scheduled to begin during spring break. Board member Steve Harrelson said the chimney should be the first priority and was his biggest safety concern considering it has huge cracks and its position looming over several classrooms.

Greenback Principal Joey Breedlove said he had spoken to Buckhead Construction earlier in the day and his main concern was that the chimney is near the spot where hallways connect leading to the cafeteria. He said one possible solution would be to begin the work on the Thursday and Friday before President's Day and those three days combined with the weekend would give workers five consecutive days to tear down enough of the chimney to remove the hazard and cap the remaining structure. 

Johnson said he was not sure what the plan was to take down the chimney since that work would be done by Buckhead. 

Sabo also inquired about water management at the school and what would be done about down spouts and gutters in disrepair.

Johnson said he wasn't sure about that problem but he did say the school's roof is at the end of its life.

Board member Gary Ubben summed up the problem saying that if a repair is a safety issue it must be immediately taken care of but if the building is abandoned in favor of a new school in three years if doesn't make sense to spend money fixing anything cosmetic.

He said if the final decision is not to build a new school, fixing the water problems is a priority to stop the building from decaying even more. 

The board decided to ask a representative of Buckhead Construction to attend the next board meeting to find some answers about the plan to repair the most pressing problems.