Saturday, September 15, 2001

The Natchez Democrat

A list of renovation projects for the Natchez-Adams School

District moved one step closer to reality Thursday.

During Thursday’s regular school board meeting, the board approved

bids for a variety of renovation projects.

From canopies to keep students dry on rainy days to a new dressing

room facility for visiting teams, the projects will meet district

needs in a variety of ways, said Superintendent Dr. Carl Davis.

&uot;These are the type of things that are really going to

make a difference (in the school district,)&uot; Davis said.

Other projects included replacement of various floor tiles

at all the schools, a parking lot extension for Robert Lewis Middle

School, remodeling of special education space at Natchez High

School and new windows for various schools.

The total cost for the seven projects was more than $1.6 million.

It will be funded with the district’s trustmark and Mississippi

Adequate Education Program (MAEP) money. The board agreed to put

a project to install chair lifts for the handicapped at McLaurin

Elementary School and Braden School on hold because the only submitted

bid was more than double the estimated price. Architect Johnny

Waycaster, with Waycaster & Associates Architects, said he

wanted to research why the bid was so high.

Another project – to install new bleachers in the high school

gymnasium – was put on hold at an earlier meeting because of questions

over funding. Because the bleachers are considered an athletic

function, the district can not use MAEP money to fund them. Instead,

it must use district maintenance money, Davis said. But according

to the district’s insurance company, the new bleachers are a high

priority.

&uot;They said the bleachers must be repaired,&uot; Davis

said.

The insurance company ruled that some planks on the bleachers

were unsteady with gaps large enough for a foot or leg to pass

through.

School Board Member Craig Langnes said he went to see the bleachers,

and he also thinks the bleachers are dangerous.

&uot;Something needs to be done on those bleachers,&uot;

Langnes said.

The bleachers would cost about $70,000 to replace, Waycaster

said.

Also on Thursday, the board heard an update about ongoing bathroom

renovations in the district. With the renovations ongoing, schools

full of children have only had access to one set of bathrooms.

Waycaster said the partitions needed to complete some of the bathrooms

should be available by next Friday.

He did not recommend bringing in portable bathrooms at this

time because phase one of the project should be completed shortly.