US Jones Elementary

The Demopolis City Schools district is moving forward with $1 million in unexpected renovations needed at US Jones Elementary School.

The school board on Thursday heard a report from architect Jordan Morris with Ward Scott Morris Architects about improvements needed to repair the L-shaped part of the school building that is over 100 years old.

Superintendent Adam Pugh said the construction started out as a plan to replace the floors, but when crews inspected, they found rotting wood from the floors to the ceiling. 

Morris said the renovations will include redoing the floors, sheetrock, lighting and replacing windows as well as replacing insulation. Design also reroutes runoff from the roof into drains that are further away from campus.

Bids for contractors will be open until the end of February, and the board will be asked to approve one at a meeting in March. Morris said the work will start in April with a four-month schedule to be completed by August before school starts back. 

“I am very pleased with the progress made,” Pugh told the board. 

A new HVAC system planned separately will be included into this project to have one general contractor overseeing both projects, Pugh said.

Cindy Fisher is Publisher of the Black Belt News Network and Selma Sun. You can reach her by emailing cfisher@blackbeltnewsnetwork.com.

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