ACS adopts $5.5M capital plan

Published 12:00 am Tuesday, August 19, 2014

The Andalusia Board of Education Monday adopted a capital plan for 2015 that looks familiar.

The $5.5 million plan, which will serve as a guideline of how the board will spend capital funds this year, has several items that have been on the “wish list” for more than a year. Included are:

• $4.75 million in additions at Andalusia High School. This is the addition of the junior high school wing, expected to be completed no later than September and opened in January.

• $50,000 for roofing at AHS.

• $100,000 for roofing at Andalusia Elementary

• $500,000 in renovations at AHS.

• $100,000 in renovations at the current Andalusia Middle School, which will become the central office and home of K-4 classes next summer.

Superintendent Ted Watson said AHS proposed renovations would include work on “Old Main,” the oldest part of the campus. Watson said work could include repairs to the columns, replacing doors, and taking rooms currently used as storage and putting them back in to useful space.

“We’re not bound by the order or the dollar amount on the plan,” Watson said.

He said Head Start also likely will move to AMS once seventh and eighth graders move to the new facility at AHS and renovations are completed.

In other business, the board:

• Hired Melinda Wilkerson as a special ed paraprofessional at AES.

• Approved changes to the supplement schedule to include supplements for bus drivers’ whose days are extended for additional duties. For instance, ACS has added routes to transport students from AHS to both the Andalusia and Opp campuses of LBW, and to the EOCC campus at the airport for dual enrollment. Those drivers will receive an additional $1,000 each year.

The board will have a special called meeting at 4:15 this Thurs., Aug. 21, to approve language changes in its agreement with the City of Andalusia for repayment of a bond issue. The next regular meeting is set for 6 p.m. at Andalusia Middle School.