Progess continues to Clarkdale's Building 300
Apr. 19—Construction work at Clarkdale School is rolling along, and Building 300 will be ready to house classrooms of students this coming fall, according to a report given to Lauderdale County school board members Thursday.
"As of yesterday, all but the last little bit of ceiling grid is in the building. I think this morning they did finish it. They're starting to put lights in the ceilings. The first coat of paint is throughout the whole building," project architect Arjen Lagendijk told school board members during their regular monthly meeting. "If you go in, you won't recognize it from what it looked like six weeks ago. It's starting to take shape. Windows are in. It's dry. We have tested it with a couple of rains. We survived those."
In spring 2022, a tornado swept through the Clarkdale campus, heavily damaging several buildings and facilities on campus. Building 300, which houses elementary classes, received the most damage from the storm, and efforts to repair the building met with subsequent delays as insurance adjusters and district officials surveyed the damage and tried to determine whether the building could be salvaged or needed to be demolished and rebuilt.
Insurance officials ultimately determined the building could be repaired, but the entire roof structure needed to be removed and rebuilt and extensive work was needed in the interior. Delays then came from the bidding process and receiving bids within the district's budget due to spiraling construction costs over the last couple of years.
The school board eventually awarded a nearly $1.38 million contract last November to TerryMark Inc. for the construction project, which began shortly afterward.
While the new roof has been put on the building, some exterior work to the building still needs to be done, as well as work to Building 200 and the canopy running from Building 200 and a nearby gym, Lagendijk said. But, he and the contractors expect the building to be completed by the middle of June, if the weather cooperates.
"On the exterior, we are in really good shape. On the interior, everything is moving like it's supposed to," he said. "As we've discussed in past board meetings, the building definitely will be ... finished in August."
Also at the meeting, the school board voted to approve a change order for the Building 300 project to add the installation of blinds to the classrooms, which are east and west facing, at a cost of approximately $25,000. They also approved a separate change order to replace gable siding with new metal siding on Building 200 for a cost of $3,000. The change orders will be funded with $15,000 in contingency funding built into the project and from another approved change order that addressed steel structure that was not needed and the installation of tapered slope insulation, which resulted in a $2,000 savings. The school board approved using district funding for the remaining $11,000.
Also at the meeting, the board recognized a group of FBLA students from West Lauderdale middle and high schools, who placed at the recent state competition and qualify to attend the national competition in Orlando, Florida, in late June. Students recognized were middle school students Caleb McAlister, Addison Miller, Cadence White, Masa Abdelkhaleq, Macie Deweese, Ava Hughley, Barbara Mattingley, Alaina Lightsey, Miley Zingler, Gavin Knight and Rhys Turner.
Their school advisers, Kimberly Gathings of West Middle and Robin Gressett of West High, asked the board if the district had any funding available to help the students attend the conference. School board members approved allocating the regular district stipend for the West students, as well as for all of the other county FBLA students who will be attending the national conference.
In other business, Superintendent John-Mark Cain recognized school board secretary Miranda Bishop as part of School Board Secretary Appreciation Week.
"She takes care of us before the meeting, during the meeting and after the meeting, and she is a joy to work with," Cain said. "We just want to take a minute to say thank you."
Board President Kelvin Jackson lauded Bishop for the tremendous job she does.
"The job that she has has tremendous responsibility," he said. "She takes pride in what she does and we appreciate you for what you do and the services you provide not only to this board but to this district."
Contact Glenda Sanders at gsanders@themeridianstar.com.
