Every year after students empty out of the school for summer vacation, maintenance workers come in to fill the space.
Most of the schools in the county will undergo typical maintenance that’s done during the summer months when there’s less foot traffic within the school. These projects include minor painting and the buffing and waxing of the floors.
Jeff Patton
“I have a paint brush in my hand right now, actually,” Jeff Patton, principal of Bruce Elementary laughed.
Patton said they are working to give the elementary school a “facelift” with some paint and slight remodeling of the bathrooms. He said they hope to finish the first portion of the project this summer and the second half next summer.
Dallas Gore, Bruce Upper Elementary principal, said like every summer the floors are being stripped and waxed but this summer they are also upgrading the bathrooms. The bathroom upgrades will include moving around the sinks and vanities.
Bruce High School will be purchasing new teacher computers, painting some of the classrooms, and freshening up the landscape.
“It’s big for us because we pinched some pennies and were able to purchase those new computers,” Principal Michael Gillespie said.
Not many changes are being made at Calhoun Academy this summer either.
“We’re doing some sprucing up,” Headmaster Don Pendergrast said. He said they are working on minor improvements like painting.
At Calhoun City Elementary, Principal Lisa Langford said there’s no major construction or remodeling this summer.
“One air conditioner is out but other than that no big projects,” Langford said. A few years ago, the school underwent major construction when the administrative office was redone.
Principal Stacia Parker at Calhoun City Middle School said there isn’t any big projects taking place this summer.
“We’re just doing our normal maintenance,” Parker said.
Calhoun City High School will be re-doing the floors, doing some painting, and fixing the concrete in a few outdoor areas, according to Principal Mike Ray.
“We got most of our stuff done last year and are working to maintain that,” Ray said.
He also said that the softball boosters are working to put up a new batting cage.
In addition to the regular painting, the Calhoun County Career and Tech Center in Calhoun City has converted two old rooms into a large classroom, Kyle Clark said.
Porter Casey
The classroom will be stocked with computers and play host to a new computer skills class including learning Microsoft program skills.
Vardaman Elementary isn’t seeing any major changes to the school throughout the summer vacation. Principal DeDee Lee said the projects being done include waxing the floors, moving some fences, and adding gravel to the parking lot.
Vardaman High School’s principal, Porter Casey, said all of the bathrooms in that school are being completely remodeled for the first time in its history.
“With this being as big scale project as it is, it’ll be mainly this,” Casey said. The 1950s bathrooms have already been completely “gutted” and work has begun on retiling and eventually installing new stalls, toilets, urinals, and sinks.
The school board approved the budget for the 2016-2017 school year last month. Superintendent Mike Moore said the schools and roofs are in good condition but will need some work in the future.
“We’re starting to go in there and do the bathrooms, the floors, paint,” Moore said. “We try to do that and keep everything as up to date as we can but we’ll need some things down the road.”