TALLADEGA – The City Board of Education had an eye to the future concerning their school facilities at its Monday work session.With several aging school facilities, the board looked at several options concerning the feasibility of keeping all seven city schools open, up to code and in good condition.
Architect Rick Lathan said the school system could be facing millions in renovation costs over the next seven years.
“We’ve been to every school and (identified) roughly $3.5 million in reroofing costs spread out over time,” Lathan said. The roofing warranties on several of the buildings on all seven campuses will be running out over the years leading up to 2016.
Lathan also estimated there would be around $1.5 million in HVAC (heating, ventilating and air conditioning) repairs and renovations coming up over those years, as well.
Superintendent Dr. Joanne Horton said the chiller in Houston Elementary had given out and was being replaced right now at a cost of $115,000, and the high school’s chiller soon would need to be replaced.
Coy Mills, also with Lathan Associates Architecture, said the board needs to start making some long-term facilities plans.
“Where do we want to go? Where do we want to be in 10 or 15 years?” Mills said.
Board members began a discussion about consolidating the elementary schools into one campus in a new building located in the area where the Dixon, Zora Ellis and Graham schools are now.
All the board members seemed to be in favor of some form of consolidation of elementary schools.
Board member Shirley Simmons-Sims suggested building a new high school and moving the middle school into the high school as well as using some of the old elementary buildings in different capacities such as a performing arts center or teacher resource center.
She thought the high school did not have adequate space for the library or adequate storage for technology equipment. Mills said because of the design of the high school, additions and renovations could be easily made.
Board president Joe Hare said he did not think the board could justify moving the junior high into the high school because there was only an enrollment of a few hundred in the junior high, and the high school was built to hold around 1,500 students. Horton said the high school’s enrollment was down to 682.
Mills said some of Simmons-Sims performing arts idea and library expansion could be put into place in the high school by using a third of the building for arts and the library and having the other two-thirds for classes since the enrollment had dropped and the classroom space was not needed now.
Horton said it had been suggested the school system move the junior high school into the Houston Elementary building, if the elementary schools could be consolidated.
The board seemed agreeable, in general, with the plan to have the elementary schools in the one area around the Dixon, Ellis and Graham schools area and having the junior high move out to Houston and keeping the high school where it is with some renovations to accommodate the arts.
Board member Bonnie Miller and Horton suggested having the elementary grades split up in separate buildings on the proposed elementary area.
Horton said administratively there could be a principal over the entire elementary school with a vice principal over grades kindergarten through third grade and a vice principal over fourth grade through sixth grade. Both would answer back to the head principal.
Miller and Lathan said over $1 million likely could be saved each year in lower administrative and energy costs with a consolidated elementary school.
The sticking points could be the price of a new elementary school and getting public support in closing old schools which have become a major part of each Talladega community they occupy.
The cost of a new elementary school would be around $33 million and a new gymnasium at the Houston building for junior high would be approximately $2.5 million. In addition, it could take years to sway public opinion to support a consolidated elementary school.
While there appeared to be support among board members for this plan, no action was taken since it was only a work session.
