Neshoba Central accepts $3 million bid for additional improvements
A nearly $3 million bid was accepted by the Neshoba County School Board for additional new heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems, new windows and exterior doors and additional restroom upgrades as the second of a three-phrase major renovation project, which spans campus-wide.
Mayrant & Associates of Jackson was awarded the $2,966,000 bid.
Work is currently underway.
Exterior doors will be replaced at the middle and elementary schools. Plans also call for bathroom renovations, new HVAC and window replacements in the junior high physical education dressing room and the elementary auditorium.
There will also be new HVAC and window replacements in the weight room, agricultural shop and the manufacturing and innovation center.
The project will be paid for with federal Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief funds which address the impact of COVID-19 on schools.
The funds are part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act passed by Congress.
Neshoba County Superintendent of Education Lundy Brantley said Phase 2 is going to be more expensive than the first phase.
“This phase is not as invasive as the first, but it’s more expensive because there are a lot of electrical upgrades when you have HVAC projects,” he said. “The exterior doors are expensive.”
He noted that Phase 2 will be more difficult “because they will have to work around the students who will be on campus. The first phrase was done mostly in the summer.”
Bids are expected to be let for Phase 3 in December or January.
That phase will include additional HVAC and window replacements at the elementary school.
Dr. Brantley noted that the new windows will add to the aesthetic appearance of the overall campus.
Phase 1 of the project entailed renovations to restrooms in the first, second and fourth grade buildings at the elementary school.
It also included new HVAC systems in the high school gym and old physical education gym.
Burks-Mordecais Builders Inc. of Columbus was awarded that contract for $2,566,000.
In a separate project, 10 new welding hoods are being added in the agricultural shop. Several other pieces of equipment are being replaced as well.
Federal monies will also fund that project.
“They will have much better ventilation in there with the welding hoods,” Dr. Brantley said.
Old high school demolition
A separate $748,970 project to demolish the old high school, which has been vacant since 2017, is near complete as the area has been cleared and is ready to sod.
McKee Construction Co. of Philadelphia was awarded the contract to demolish the original two-story building, which housed both the high school and junior high at one time. It was constructed in 1963.
The newer adjacent single story building, which includes the old cafeteria, gym and agricultural facilities, remains intact.
About 1,500 bricks from the original building will be utilized to construct a monument to the old high school. It will be similar to the school’s previous monument, featuring two blue rockets. One of the original rockets will be refurbished. The other one was stolen so a new one will be fabricated to resemble the original.
A location for the monument is yet to be determined.