Stokes school officials studying repair needs

Some immediate problems have been fixed

WESTFIELD (Winston-Salem Journal) - When Stokes County school officials decided to look at the safety of the county’s oldest school, they knew that they were taking on a big project.

The main building at Nancy Reynolds Elementary School is more than 80 years old. Its age can be seen in the sagging auditorium floor and heard as the floor groans under foot.

The floors in the school’s auditorium, one of the structural problems that officials found, were reinforced this week.

The floors were the only problems that needed immediate repair.

Other structural problems will take time and money to repair or replace.

Last month, an engineer recommended that school officials tear down the original main building - built in 1923 - and part of the building that was built in 1931 because of their age and condition.

Steve Shelton, the chairman of the Stokes County Board of Education, said that the board hopes to resolve issues at the school while preserving it.