Daniel Prince
Roofing, carpeting, painting, and landscaping among the improvements
At Monday’s school board meeting, Director of Maintenance Mark Haney updated the school board on all the maintenance activities the department did over the summer. He noted it was a very challenging summer, as the summer break itself was shorter, projects took longer, contractors didn’t have enough employees, and there was a nationwide paint shortage due to storms that affected Texas over the summer.
Despite that, crews did finally complete the roofing projects at Monarch Elementary School and the district office. They did have enough paint to finish the corridors and stairwells at Monarch Elementary School but not enough to paint the 10 classrooms they wanted. They also painted the HR department and administrative areas of the district office.
They installed a secure door entrance at the high school, where those approaching must be physically buzzed into the lobby. They will do the same at the district office later in the year. They completed pressure washing of areas at the high school, Sims, Jonesville, and Buffalo. They repaired the playground fencing at Foster Park. They replaced the carpet in the administrative office area at the high school. The nurse’s office there got tile that won’t need to be buffed or waxed. They replaced carpet in the band and chorus room, on the stairs in the cafeteria that lead to the stage, and they also recarpeted the HR Department at the district office.
They built walls inside two mobiles at Foster Park to split them into two classrooms. They also installed AC units in the newly created spaces there. They created a soundproof reading recovery room at Buffalo Elementary, and they installed a new mini split for the air conditioning for the guidance and sensory rooms at Buffalo.
In landscaping, they removed large boulders from the Peach Orchard Road entrance to the high school and dead trees at both entrances. They also did some new landscaping near the fence at Monarch. They removed a section of curbing at the rear of the district office to create an exit and help with traffic flow.
They resolved three sewer line issues at Buffalo, Union County High School, and Jonesville Elementary Middle School. They installed Knox boxes at Monarch, Buffalo, and Foster Park, which will give fire departments access to the building in case of emergency, rather than having to wait for a keyholder to arrive. They converted at least 350 light fixtures to LED over the summer. They installed LED strip fixtures at the ramp at Monarch. Haney stated those lights had not worked in nearly 20 years because of the difficulty in getting to them.
They refinished the gym floors at Sims and Jonesville, and they installed an air curtain at the kitchen entrance at Monarch. Haney stated his department will be replacing a large slide at Foster Park, as the old one had developed a large hole the previous year and was taken out of commission. Though the slide was ordered before the summer began, it still has not been delivered. The manufacturer will have to install the slide.