$8 million in infrastructure projects underway in Bessemer City School District

2 months ago 2

BUT PLEASE STAY OFF THE ROAD. AND WITH THE STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION NOW RUNNING THE BESSEMER SCHOOL DISTRICT, WORK IS UNDERWAY TO REPAIR SOME OF THEIR OLDER, DILAPIDATED SCHOOL BUILDINGS. WVTM 13 S LISA CRANE LIVE AND LOCAL IN BESSEMER. WHAT CHANGES ARE STUDENTS AND TEACHERS SEEING THERE? LISA. WELL, WE ARE AT ABRAMS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL RIGHT NOW AND THIS SCHOOL IS ABOUT TO GET A BRAND NEW ROOF. IT’S KIND OF HARD TO SEE FROM OUR VANTAGE POINT, BUT STUDENTS AND TEACHERS WILL NOTICE WHEN THAT WORK IS DONE BECAUSE THEY WON’T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT ALL THAT WATER THAT WAS LEAKING INSIDE EVERY TIME IT RAINED. ABRAMS ELEMENTARY WAS BUILT IN 1982. 42 YEARS OF WEAR AND TEAR HAVE TAKEN THEIR TOLL. BUT SOON IT WILL HAVE A NEW ROOF TO KEEP THE WATER OUT AND THE STUDENTS DRY. WORK LIKE THIS IS HAPPENING AT SEVERAL OTHER BUILDINGS IN THE DISTRICT. THIS IS THE FIRST TIME THAT WE’VE EVER HAD SIX PROJECTS IN PROGRESS SIMULTANEOUSLY. SO THIS IS HUGE FOR OUR FAMILIES. OUR STUDENTS, OUR FACULTY. MOST OF THOSE PROJECTS ARE ROOF REPLACEMENTS, NOT SOMETHING THAT MAKES CLASSROOMS VISIBLY MORE APPEALING. BUT SOMETHING THAT HAS TO BE ADDRESSED FIRST. IT’S VERY IMPORTANT FOR US TO DO THE ROOFS, YOU KNOW, BECAUSE AND THEN WE CAN START LOOKING ON THE INSIDE OF THE FACILITIES. BECAUSE IF YOU HAVE IF YOU GOT PUT NEW STUFF INSIDE THE INSIDE AND IT’S LEAKING, THEN WE JUST FLUSHING MONEY DOWN THE DRAIN. THE FLAT ROOFS ARE BEING REPLACED WITH A PVC PRODUCT THAT COMES WITH A WARRANTY. ALREADY, THOUGH, THE ROOF AT THE MIDDLE SCHOOL AND JONESBORO ELEMENTARY HAVE HAD TO BE PATCHED AFTER STRAY BULLETS CAUSED LEAKS. THE RESULTS OF CELEBRATORY GUNFIRE IN NEARBY NEIGHBORHOODS. WHEN WE COME BACK AFTER THE NEW YEARS, WE GOT A LEAK. AND AND MATTER OF FACT, I’VE CALLED THE CONTRACTOR OUT BECAUSE IT’S ON A WARRANTY. THOSE THOSE TWO PARTICULAR LOCATIONS WAS UNDER WARRANTY, AND I CALLED THEM OUT. AND AND IT’S NOT A WARRANTY ISSUE. ONCE THE BUILDINGS ARE DRIED IN, THE DISTRICT WILL FOCUS ON IMPROVEMENTS TO MAKE THE SCHOOLS LOOK BETTER AS WELL. WE’RE LOOKING AT SOME OF THE FENCING AROUND OUR CAMPUSES, DEFINITELY UPGRADING SOME OF THE PAINT, THE WINDOWS IS A PROJECT THAT WE’RE LOOKING AT, BUT THERE’S A LOT OF OTHER SMALL PROJECTS. SO FAR, THE DISTRICT HAS SPENT ABOUT $8 MILLION ON THESE PROJECTS. THEY’RE ALSO GOING TO BE REPLACING THE HEATING AND COOLING SYSTEM AT HARTFORD ELEMENTARY AND RENOVATING THE DISTRICT OFFICE, AS WELL AS DEMOLISHING THE GYM AT NEW HORIZONS SCHOOL.

With the State Board of Education now running the Bessemer School District, work is underway to repair some of their older dilapidated school buildings.Abrams Elementary was built in 1982 – 42 years of wear and tear have taken their toll. But soon, it'll have a new roof to keep the water out and the students dry. Work like this is happening at several other buildings in the district."This is the first time that we've ever had six projects in progress simultaneously," Superintendent Dana Arreola said. "So this is huge for our families, our students, our faculty."Most of those projects are roof replacements, which is not something that makes classrooms visibly more appealing, but it's something that has to be addressed first."It's very important for us to do the roofs, you know, because then we can start looking on the inside of all the facilities," said Reginald Mitchell, the director of facilities maintenance. "Because if you have, if you got putting the stuff on the inside and it's leaking, then we're just flushing money down the drain."The flat roofs are being replaced with a PVC product that comes with a warranty. The roofs at the middle school and Jonesboro Elementary have had to be patched after stray bullets caused leaks, which were caused by celebratory gunfire in nearby neighborhoods.We come back after New Year's, we got a leak," Mitchell said. "And, as matter of fact, I've called the contractor out because it's under warranty, those two particular locations was under warranty, and I call them and it's not a warranty issue."Once the buildings are dried in, the district will focus on improvements to make the schools look better as well. "We're looking at some of the fencing around our campuses, definitely, upgrading some of the paint, the windows is a project that we're looking at. But there's a lot of other small projects," Arreola said.So far, the district has spent about $8 million. They're also replacing the heating and cooling system at Hard Elementary. They’ll also renovate the district office and demolish the gym at New Horizons School.

BESSEMER, Ala. —

With the State Board of Education now running the Bessemer School District, work is underway to repair some of their older dilapidated school buildings.

Abrams Elementary was built in 1982 – 42 years of wear and tear have taken their toll. But soon, it'll have a new roof to keep the water out and the students dry. Work like this is happening at several other buildings in the district.

"This is the first time that we've ever had six projects in progress simultaneously," Superintendent Dana Arreola said. "So this is huge for our families, our students, our faculty."

Most of those projects are roof replacements, which is not something that makes classrooms visibly more appealing, but it's something that has to be addressed first.

"It's very important for us to do the roofs, you know, because then we can start looking on the inside of all the facilities," said Reginald Mitchell, the director of facilities maintenance. "Because if you have, if you got putting the stuff on the inside and it's leaking, then we're just flushing money down the drain."

The flat roofs are being replaced with a PVC product that comes with a warranty. The roofs at the middle school and Jonesboro Elementary have had to be patched after stray bullets caused leaks, which were caused by celebratory gunfire in nearby neighborhoods.

We come back after New Year's, we got a leak," Mitchell said. "And, as matter of fact, I've called the contractor out because it's under warranty, those two particular locations was under warranty, and I call them and it's not a warranty issue."

Once the buildings are dried in, the district will focus on improvements to make the schools look better as well.

"We're looking at some of the fencing around our campuses, definitely, upgrading some of the paint, the windows is a project that we're looking at. But there's a lot of other small projects," Arreola said.

So far, the district has spent about $8 million. They're also replacing the heating and cooling system at Hard Elementary. They’ll also renovate the district office and demolish the gym at New Horizons School.

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