Jackson County Schools securing funding through a public school construction and maintenance grant to help with facility improvements at Dodson Branch School.
Director of Schools Jason Hardy said the funding serves as an additional allocation to help the school system meet specific requirements. Hardy said the grant will specifically be used to offset the costs associated with the portable classroom situation.
“It’s just a little bit under $33,000,” Hardy Said, “So, again we’re always constantly looking for grants, and to get that 33,000 dollars that’ll offset a little bit of that, super happy about that.”
Hardy said the district is currently working with architects to finalize the design for the portable units. Hardy said a recent meeting with state Pre-K officials confirmed that a remote playground is acceptable for the site, allowing for more flexibility in the building footprint.
“I’ve told the architect he can use that entire space for building,” one official said. “So we’re hoping to get a little more square footage of actual usable classroom there at the Branch.”
Hardy said the district is also moving forward with a large capital project at Dodson Branch that includes combining two previously approved roofing projects. Hardy said the successful acquisition of various grants has allowed the school system to maintain its workforce without staff reductions.
Hardy said the district has completed its budget for the upcoming year and did not include any new positions. Hardy said the budget remains largely consistent with the previous year, with the primary increases attributed to personnel salaries and benefits.
“We talked about this when I took over how it was going to tighten up as the years went and everybody across the state you probably read about a lot of our counties around us have had to tighten up and let people go,” Hardy said.