What’s happening with the school bond project?
Sunflower County Consolidated School District Superintendent Dr. Miskia Davis held a short but informative Zoom meeting on Tuesday night, updating the community on the status of the county’s high school projects.
Back in late September, the citizens voted in favor of a $31 million bond issue that will primarily serve to renovate, and in some cases, rebuild parts of Gentry High School and Thomas Edwards High in Ruleville.
Davis played two videos that were essentially walk-throughs of the design plans for both schools, detailing new additions, classrooms, media centers, cafeterias, courtyards and more.
“There will be major additions to Gentry and renovations to Gentry,” Davis said. “There will be major additions to Thomas Edwards, and there will be renovations to Thomas Edwards.”
One of the biggest changes coming to Gentry High will be the demolition of all outfacing classrooms.
“All outfacing wings, classrooms will be torn down and demolished and rebuilt so they will be inside a structured building,” Davis said.
Davis said the front of Thomas Edwards will be torn down and rebuilt, as well as Gentry.
“There will be a lot of demolition taking place on both sites,” Davis said.
Davis said that money will be invested in new drainage, sewer, windows and parking.
She also pledged that no pre-fabricated metal buildings would be constructed as part of the projects.
The district is currently in the design stage.
Bidding will be advertised in mid-April, she said, and the bid date is set for May 12.
Davis said she hopes the district will break ground on the major projects on June 1, with completion scheduled in 2023 and 2024.
Davis said students will not be going virtual as a result of this construction.
“Children will be at school,” she said.
She said she hopes the cafeteria portion of the project is done at both schools over the summer so that there are few hiccups with getting kids to those areas, but she said no matter what happens, all students will be fed on site each day.
Addressing community feedback in the Zoom chat, Davis said that the district has hired a project manager to oversee the construction to make sure that no shortcuts are taken, and she said the district’s maintenance department is also heavily involved with the projects.
