Board Of Education Signs Off On $2.2 Million Paving Project Across Dade Schools
The Dade County Board of Education has approved a roughly $2.2 million paving project across multiple campuses, addressing deteriorating conditions that officials say have worsened over time.
The project covers Dade County High School, Dade Middle School and portions of Dade Elementary School, where aging asphalt, drainage issues and structural failures have created ongoing maintenance concerns.
Superintendent Josh Ingle recommended the board move forward with the higher-cost option — $2,229,000 — rather than a reduced version priced at approximately $1.9 million, which would have relied more heavily on patchwork and risked future deterioration.
“This is doing it the right way,” Ingle said.
The project was presented by Kenneth Harless, with KRH Incorporated Architects in Atlanta, who walked board members through conditions across each campus and the approach to repairing them.
At the high school and middle school, the work will include a mix of resurfacing, patching and full reconstruction in areas where the base beneath the asphalt has failed. Some sections will be milled and repaved, while others require deeper stabilization, including rebuilding the base layer entirely.
Officials noted that certain areas have been patched repeatedly over the years, with visible signs of long-term wear, including potholes, cracking and standing water.
At Dade Middle School, one of the more significant concerns involves the main entrance, where a drop-off has caused strain on buses entering the campus.
Drainage issues were also a recurring theme, with low-lying areas holding water after rain events, conditions that can lead to freezing in winter and further damage to the pavement.
The project is expected to begin shortly after Memorial Day and continue through most of the summer, with contractors working to maintain access to campuses as much as possible during construction.
In addition to the paving work, the board also supported a related effort to pursue grant funding aimed at improving water quality near Dade Middle School.
Stephen Bontekoe, executive director of the Limestone Valley Resource Conservation and Development Council, proposed incorporating green infrastructure elements into the project to help protect the neighboring creek.
The proposal would create vegetated buffer areas, rain gardens and infiltration basins designed to capture and filter runoff from the parking lot before it reaches the creek.
“This is a great opportunity,” Bontekoe said, noting that portions of the existing pavement sit within the state buffer zone and contribute to runoff directly into the waterway.
The plan would be funded through a Clean Water Act grant, with Dade County serving as the applicant. The school system would not contribute new funds but would instead identify approximately $67,000 in existing project costs that qualify as matching funds.
If approved, the grant could bring roughly $100,000 in additional improvements to the site.
Bontekoe emphasized that even if the grant is not awarded, incorporating green space into the project could still provide benefits by reducing runoff and easing long-term maintenance.
“For the sake of beauty, for the sake of the runoff, for the sake of the opportunities it creates,” he said, “I would propose doing it.”
The board agreed to support Bontekoe’s efforts pursuing the grant while moving forward with the paving project as planned.
The board also approved its April 27 personnel report, which included several hires, retirements, resignations and one transfer.
The report listed Abby Moore, Drew Adams, Maggie Scharff, Kaitlyn Hedden and Dr. Ryan Bandy under hires for FY27 administration and certified personnel. Theresia Beagles and Paige Kimball were listed as retiring at the end of FY26. The resignations listed were Alicia Borders, Mary Braun, Kelsey Lee, Ashley Parker, Melanie Weathers, Amanda Steele, Paige Whitaker, Cornelia Jones, Catherine Massey and Lori Case. Kathy Hiland was listed as a transfer.
