Campus Upgrades, Repairs Discussed by McKenzie School Board

McKENZIE (September 3) — The McKenzie Special School District’s Board of Education discussed significant upgrades and repairs at each of the three campuses during its September 3 meeting.

Painting of the exterior of the McKenzie Elementary School was discussed by the board with four bids opened to complete the project.

While the contract was not awarded during the meeting, four bids were presented with Glenn Tharpe bidding $48,500, T&L Painting at $56,000, Massengill Painting at $78,500 and Ross Maintenance bidding $162,695.

Dr. Justin Barden said the life expectancy of the repainting is six to 10 years.

Replacing the bleachers in the McKenzie Middle School resulted in estimates from contractors to perform the work. One side of the gym’s bleachers has a plastic seat and the other side has wood. The board discussed several combinations for the scope of work, including replacing all the seating with plastic, replacing one side, and making upgrades to the supporting structure underneath. Barden estimated the cost from $100,000 to $200,000.

The topic has been discussed for a few years by the board. The various combinations of replacement ranged in cost from $48,177 to $64,305.

However, all the discussion about seating was moot after the board heard the floor itself might need some significant repair or replacement. Several areas of the gym floor have ‘dead’ spots, where the basketball bounces differently than the remainder of the floor surface. The underlying structure might need a major repair.

At the high school and middle school, the Board plans to replace many of the milky-looking windows, where the seals have leaked and the metal window frames have rusted. Lashlee-Rich is the project manager for the project.

Lashlee-Rich is also the project manager for a planned replacement of the roof at McKenzie High School.

Dr. Barden administered the oath of office to three board members, Misty Aird, Karen Fowler, and Chad Brown, who were reelected during the August election.

Elected officers were:

A open house for the new multi-purpose sports building on the MHS campus is Saturday, September 28, 3 to 5 p.m.

The new football digital scoreboard is installed and operational at Rebel Stadium.

All paving is complete on McKenzie Middle School and McKenzie High School campuses.

The Board approved 75 desks and a service truck with 245,000 miles as surplus property. Today, students tend to have tables instead of individual desks.

A trip for the Middle School Beta Club to Nashville on November 25-26 was approved.