By FULLER ROYAL
Staff Writer

Columbus Charter School Headmaster Steve Smith is waiting on 5,000-gallon sewer tanks.
And until they are delivered, installed and inspected, Columbus County’s first charter school can’t occupy its new buildings.

That delay has pushed the start of school back at least four weeks. The original start date was Monday, July 23.

Smith said that he would like to open as early as Monday, Aug. 20 but a more realistic start date would be Monday, Aug. 27, the same day the Columbus County and Whiteville City schools open.

Smith said that an Aug. 27 start would create a more traditional calendar for the otherwise year-round school and that it would be in sync with its sister facility, Brunswick County’s Charter Day School, by the end of the school year.

It took nearly 14 weeks to get an okay from the state for the proposed sewer system for the school.

Headmaster Steve Smith said Friday that the additional three or four weeks should be enough to have the campus’ administration building and its first six classrooms ready for students for the school’s first 150 students.

Columbus Charter School is owned by Roger Bacon Academy.

Superintendent for the Roger Bacon Academy, Mark Cramer, and Smith decided to delay the start of school when no suitable interim classrooms could be found.

When it became apparent that the sewer application and inspection process was going to be longer than anticipated, Smith began contacting churches that were close enough and large enough to house 160 students and teachers.

Most of the churches contacted, citing liability insurance worries, declined to help. New Life Church on Maultsby Street in Whiteville was willing, but an inspection last week by Whiteville’s fire chief showed that the facility wasn’t up to code to house a school.

Smith, who said the past few months have been frustrating, is taking everything in stride. He said that everything is on track – electrical hookups, water systems, books, furniture, phones and other infrastructure. The sewer system is the holdup.

He said that the school’s staff is already on the payroll.

They will use the extra weeks to work in the Charter Day School in Leland for a firsthand look at the way the charter school operates.

Smith said that parents who have enrolled their children in Columbus Charter School can rest assured that the school will open.

To reassure parents, Smith is conducting a meeting for the school’s parents, Tuesday, July 17 at 6 p.m. at New Life Community Church at the corner of Lewis and Maultsby streets in Whiteville.

He said that once the school begins classes, the calendar has enough wiggle room in it for students to finish the year out with no difficulty.