EASLEY — The Pickens County School Board, acting upon the recommendation of Interim Superintendent Mendel Stewart, voted in February to trim more than $60 million from the school district’s facilities program due to financial concerns.

Among the schools impacted by the decision was the Career and Technology Center, which will be located on Chastain Road along U.S. Highway 123. Architect Joel Carter, of the architectural firm of Jumper Carter Sease/Architects P.A., said the facility priced at $22 million has seen its square footage cut almost in half — from nearly 300,000 to 152,000.

“That brought us back into the budget where we needed to be,” Carter said.

Carter said the reductions included eliminating the mechanical and storage mezzanines and going from a three-wing style of facility to two wings. In addition, Carter said building materials, though still good quality, have been changed.

“We’re now using more split faced block and utility brick, which is a more economical building element,” he said, adding that architectural plans for the technology center and the second elementary school for Liberty that will also be on the site have been coordinated in order to complement one another.

Carter said the cafeteria, originally slated to seat 500, has been cut in half to 250 and Culinary Arts will also offer a bistro. The reduction in square footage will also provide more flexibility in the courtyard area, allowing for possible greenhouse construction and other amenities down the road.

Plans for an auditorium and additional physics lab, contained in the former site design, have since been eliminated. Yet, for all the changes to the facility, which will be located in close proximity to the Pickens County Commerce Park, Carter said space remains available for future growth and — even more importantly — no programs have been cut.

Carter said the center would feature a Cybery, or a Web-based library, to house books for students and faculty and a Health and Science area to complement its chemistry and biology classes.

When asked by school board members if he feels the facility will contain adequate space, Carter replied, “We do.” But Carter quickly added that the facility couldn’t afford any further reductions.

“We can’t reduce any more square footage without creating insufficient space,” he said.

Carter also told the board that the “brick and block” used for the facility will provide durability.

“We’ve been in business too long to do something that won’t last,” Carter said, pointing out that the building is steeped to take advantage of the sloping site and terrain and that natural light will be allowed to enter into the center court area and provide vision to the outside.

Carter said the site package for the Career and Technology Center and second Liberty Elementary School would be bid June 18, with work scheduled to begin shortly thereafter. He expects the site to be ready for footings in some areas by the middle of August, with the new school set to officially open in fall 2011.

“We’re on an aggressive schedule and will be moving quickly,” Carter said.