Frankford, WV (WOAY) – The Greenbrier County Board of Education has broken ground on planned school renovations at Frankford Elementary.
The West Virginia School Building Authority awarded $6.7 million to Greenbrier County Schools to address Frankford’s safety, accessibility, and infrastructure needs.
Frankford will undergo the construction project utilizing those funds, and an additional $607,000 from Greenbrier County Schools. Their number one goal is to provide the best possible student education and a safe environment in which to do so.
“For a long time, we have been wanting to do renovations here at Frankford School to try to get it under one roof,” said GCBOE President Jeanie Wyatt. “We had some portable buildings here that needed replacing. We needed a more secure entrance. So we went several times to the SBA in regards to that, and were lucky this time that we were chosen.”
The SBA couldn’t be happier to finance the Frankford Elementary School project.
“Such a lot of positive things go on in Greenbrier County, Superintendent Brian, the BOE down here is so progressive, and we’re just excited to be a part of it,” Executive Director Andy Neptune said.
This will encompass the removal of the portable buildings, as well as the construction of new classrooms. Students will no longer have to step outside to go between buildings.
“The office will be more handicap accessible on ground level, where the office today you have to go up the staircase,” said Wyatt. “Overall safety factors and handicap accessibility will all be taken care of here now.”
Once the SBA approved this and it went into design, that led to the groundbreaking.
“So we’re expecting this project to be (completed) between a year and a half, two years, maybe, and it’ll be exciting then to come and cut the ribbon on it.”
The students welcome the school upgrade as something special.
“I think they’re going to make it way better, and so much better that everybody else would love to come (here),” said Fourth-Grader Kinsley Wellman. “Right now, it’s getting older, but, like, that’s a really good memory. And now it’s just going to be really pretty.”
