Pam Dudding
Contributing writer
Summer break is on, and the students and teachers are enjoying their summer off, but the Craig County Public Schools School Board is still hard at work, helping the administration to pursue needed repairs as well as going forward with next year’s agenda.
Many approvals were made of Title applications as well as policy updates.
Shane Gills, maintenance director, gave updates on the school’s renovations:
- Locker rooms are 90% complete and looking really good. There are a few finishing touches that need to be done.
- The HVAC in the gym should be completed no later than July 4.
- The floor guys are supposed to start July 6 which is on schedule.
- They are resetting the gym and auditorium units mid-June.
- HVAC is on schedule except for the cafeteria, the hallway unit beside of it and the 50-ton unit for the middle school. (Gills shared that when they ordered that unit last year Trane did not put it in so they “dropped the ball.” He has been working with Southern Air and the Trane representative who have agreed to foot the bill to keep the the middle school end going until the unit arrives, hopefully in December so they can install during Christmas break.
- Cafeteria is a “little bit trickier” as the unit is supposed to arrive in September. However, the contractors are going to do as much work in the cafeteria as they can before school starts and then they can work weekends and during school breaks to get the new unit in.
- The clinic is on schedule as they have new walls going up.
“The football field project has gone well and even better than we expected,” Gills exclaimed. “The well drilling has been dug and they only had to go 150 feet, therefore we are getting 100 gallons a minute.”
He added, “So we are going to save substantially on that, using a lower horsepower pump, lower power to run it, and less design on the irrigation system so it is a good thing altogether. The irrigation company will be in this week and as soon as the irrigation is in the turf guys will fall right in line as they are on schedule to be done before our first game in August.”
Coach Jimmy Fisher added later, “The grass and clover on the field were killed on Friday. AquaTurf has started on the irrigation system and our well is finished.”
He noted that off-season morning workouts during the school year will be Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays at 7 a.m. for varsity only. Off-season afternoon workouts will be five days per week, 3:45-5:30 p.m. (Monday, Tuesday and Thursday for varsity and Monday, Wednesday and Friday for middle school.) Fisher is in the building for the 7 a.m. workouts.
The interim superintendent, John Busher, shared, “In my short time in being here I have enjoyed getting to know everyone involved and Craig County Public Schools. I have found my opportunity to work with them to be beneficial assisting you during this short time as we collaborate to help me help you as I have noticed that you are very close.”
“During this time, I discussed what I call a TAP, Task Analysis Planning,” he said. “So, we went through, and he identified things which need to be accomplished by now.”
He briefly went over the schedule.
The next Craig County School Board meeting has been moved to the third Tuesday, July 18 at 5:30 p.m. in the auditorium. Citizens are encouraged to attend or watch on the school internet to stay informed of the renovations currently taking place, the new football field turf, academic decisions as well as the election of the new superintendent.
