Shelby County School Board issues bonds, starts Southside

The Shelby County Board of Education took the next steps for both its ongoing building projects during Thursday’s meeting at the district’s offices.

Duanne Puckett

Senior Judge Michael W. Harrod (right) administered the oaths of office to student board representatives Lauren Greenwell from Collins High and Justin Stewart from Shelby County High. School board member Doug Butler looks on.

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Duanne Puckett

New student school board representatives Laura Greenwell (left) and Justin Stewart (far right) pose with members of the West Middle Presidential Leadership Enrichment Program.

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Duanne Puckett

Shelby County School Board Chair Eddie Mathis (left) and Superintendent James Neihof (right) pose with What Outstanding Work award recipient Karen Reinhart of Southside Elementary

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The board heard updates from the architects on the new Southside Elementary School and the Northside Early Childhood Center and approved the bond issue to get the Northside project started.

K. Norman Berry & Associates’ Harry Dumesnil reported to the board that the contracts are in the works with BCD, Inc., the general contractor the board approved at the Sept. 27 meeting.

“Once that’s finished, we hope to start construction immediately,” he said.

The plan has the district occupying the building by Jan. 2014.

The board also approved the issuance of bonds for the project. Dwight Salsbury of Ross, Sinclair & Associates said the Northside bond issue will be a little more than $5 million.

The board also approved a $433,000 bid for the road connecting Southside Elementary to Kentucky Street, which is currently the emergency road on the south end of the property. MAC Construction and Excavation will do the work. MAC also did the roadwork for Chapel Hill Road, which leads into Clear Creek Elementary.

With phase 1 under way, Dumesnil told the board that architects hope to have the road completed before the end of December, moving up the beginning of the facility construction. Dumesnil said he would be back in front of the board at the Oct. 25 meeting to ask for permission to advertise the job, which then would be sent to bid on Nov. 2. With bids opened on Nov. 29, construction hopefully would begin before the end of March 2013.

With that schedule, he said the district should be able to occupy the building by summer 2014, and the demolition of the old Southside would be in June 2014.

Salsbury said he has estimated the bond issue for the Southside project to be more than $13 million, “but that is with very conservative estimates,” he said. “I used an interest rate of just over three for that estimate, but we sold some bonds today with a rate of about two-point-four.”

State assessment scores

Superintendent James Neihof informed the board that the district received its Unbridled Learning scores on Thursday. “We received our scores in draft form, and we’re starting to go through them,” he said. “The scores are embargoed for now, and they [the state department of education] are saying now that the public release will be Oct. 29 but that’s not set yet.”

Board meeting changes

The board discussed and approved changing three special called workshop meetings for November. The meetings, which are designed to meet with each individual school to discuss its past year and goals for the next year, are now set for Nov. 12, 13 and 19, and all will begin at 6 p.m. at the district’s offices.

Also at the meeting, the board:

• Installed the new student board reps, Lauren Greenwell from Collins High School and Justin Stewart from Shelby County High School.
• Heard a presentation from West Middle’s Presidential Leadership Enrichment Program. The program takes a select group of students, and teaches them about the country’s history by examining some of the presidents and other leaders qualities through the challenges they faced.
• Presented Karen Reinhart of Southside Elementary School with a What Outstanding Work award.