If everything goes to plan, the Burke County Public Schools will be headquartered in downtown Â鶹´«Ã½ by the 2026-27 school year.
The school system plans to move to the former home of Burke United Christian Ministries, located at 305 W. Union St., Â鶹´«Ã½.
Burke County schools currently shares its central office with the county health and social services departments on East Parker Road. The two county departments have struggled with a need for additional space.
The new central office location will mean more room for the school system. School administration workers currently occupy 14,000 square feet in a county building.
This rendering from McKissick Architecture shows what the front of the new Burke County Public Schools central office will look like after renovations. The school systems plans to move into the former Burke United Christian Ministries in downtown Â鶹´«Ã½ next year.Â
In July, the school system purchased the new building for $1.5 million from Burke Charitable Properties Inc. The building sits on 2.83 acres and has a total square footage of 32,500, according to county land records.
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At Monday’s Burke County Board of Education meeting, Vern McKissick with McKissick Architecture presented the board with an update on plans for the site.
The total cost for the project is estimated at $10.2 million, which includes $8.2 million for the renovation and an estimated $657,014 for furnishings, as well as other project-related costs, according to the presentation from McKissick.
This rendering from McKissick Architecture shows a bird's eye view of the proposed new central office for Burke County Public Schools. Â
McKissick presented a walk-through video and renderings of what the building would look like after completion. It would no longer resemble the former Burke United Christian Ministries or original Ingles grocery store.
The parking lot size will be decreased from the street edge and greenery will be added to both sides of the building, leaving room for 105 parking spaces, McKissick said. The parking spaces will face the building.
While the building will look different, a lot of the white walls inside will remain, he said.
“The whole concept is not to blow it up completely, but is to work within those elements that could be saved or repurposed,†McKissick said.
Inside the building, the left front section will be used for district administrative and student services. The opposite side, which once held a health clinic, will house human resources and finance, McKissick said.
This rendering from McKissick Architecture shows what the front of the new Burke County Public Schools central office will look like after renovations.Â
ESL and children’s nutrition will be in the back, he said. McKissick proposed keeping the Burke United Christian Ministries kitchen and using it as a break room and teaching kitchen.
There will also be records storage, training areas where the Burke United Christian Ministries thrift store is housed and conference rooms.
While some elements of the building will be retained, newer ones will be added. Additional windows will be built into the facility to allow more natural sunlight in, McKissick said. He said the building currently doesn’t have a lot of windows.
McKissick said the renovation would also include adding more windows that will allow light to bleed into some large areas and offices.
McKissick said Burke United Christian Ministries is expecting to move out of the building in May.
He said some work on the building could start in May, while bids on the main project may be accepted May through June. He said the school board could award the project at its June meeting.
Construction would start in August, according to his presentation to the board.
The goal is to move central office out of its East Parker Road location in June 2026.
Burke County Superintendent Mike Swan said the school board will continue to meet at Olive Hill Resource Center after the central office moves to the new location.
