White County Schools will be busy this summer with renovation projects ranging from classroom conversions at the high school to flooring and playground upgrades.
Transportation and Maintenance Director Randy Alley said the department is transforming two high school classrooms into a dedicated culinary arts space featuring new flooring and cabinetry. Alley said the summer schedule also includes renovations to chemistry labs.
“We always try to make something better each year,” Alley said. “We always try to add some things during the summer and we have a lot of older buildings that we try to update. So each year we try to come in with something new, something to, to say ‘Hey, you know, we’ve upgraded this.’ So it’s not really anything new for us. We do this every year. We just try to see what makes the best benefit for the students and for White County.”
Alley said the work will include the replacement of decades-old carpeting at the middle school, and the installation of new fiberglass bleachers at Cassville Elementary. Alley said the district will utilize outside contractors for the large-scale carpet and flooring replacements while the internal maintenance staff handles the remaining renovations.
“Well, we are very unique in far as school systems go,” Alley said. “I have five maintenance employees. And that’s very low compared to all the other counties around. But those five maintenance employees, they’re really good. They love what they’re doing and they can get a lot of things done once you can get the students out of the schools and they can get in there and get after it. So I don’t have a doubt that they will not finish all those projects on time and be ready for school.”
Alley said the crew will also refinish every wooden gymnasium floor in the district before the new school year begins.
“You know, a referee will tell you that if you can referee an entire game and never be noticed you’ve done a great job,” Alley said. “So that’s kind of the way maintenance is. When no one’s complaining about you, you are doing really well. So we, we’ve kind of got a new initiative in the last year from a younger crew of maintenance guys and they, they kind of like to push it and see how many things they can get done.”
Alley said the current five-person team has earned praise from administrators for their efficiency and high volume of work. Alley said the department is already looking beyond the summer to address bathroom partitions and handicap accessibility updates at the high school.
“They’re ready to go and they’re getting out there and getting a lot of things done,” Alley said. “So people should be proud. I know you can always say well hey you didn’t do this or you didn’t do that, but there’s a lot that we’re getting accomplished. So they should be proud of that.”
Alley said he feels 100 percent confident that all scheduled projects will be completed in time for the return of students.