Northwest Elementary has been undergoing years of renovations, repairs and replacements since the 2020 tornadoes, but the final phase of work is nearly complete, Murray County Schools Superintendent Chris Crow said.
At Monday's Murray County Board of Education meeting, board members approved the purchase of new replacement kitchen equipment for the school for $79,666.03.
As part of the final stage of the renovation of Northwest Elementary School (known as Phase 3), the school’s kitchen and administration areas have been expanded and remodeled, completing a substantial overhaul of the 1956-built school.
Crow said the kitchen equipment is almost equally old and in “urgent need” of upgrading.
“It's mostly stainless steel countertops, prep tables, work surfaces and racks,” Crow said. “It's actually paid for by the (Murray County Schools) nutrition department. The old equipment is outdated, so it was definitely in need of an upgrade.”
Work on the third phase began in April, with the final cost coming in at about $2.7 million.
Board members also approved an amendment to the guaranteed maximum price for restroom renovations at Murray County High School, which Crow said is $596,738.
Crow said the project will involve renovating two bathrooms in the high school's “main building” due to plumbing issues.
“This project was originally going to be renovated later, but we had some unforeseen underground plumbing issues so we decided to tackle it now,” he said, “especially since we already have electricians, masons and all the other manpower working on the new gym.”
Crow said the restrooms are adjacent to the social studies and math halls.
Crow also said Chatsworth Elementary's electrical distribution equipment, or power system, is also “in need of an upgrade.”
Board members approved a $62,800 estimate to purchase replacement switchgear, which Crow said is “like an electrical hub that runs the whole school.”
“This will be a complete replacement of the electrical switchboard that was first installed in 1975,” Crowe said. “The components are obviously outdated and if there is an issue with the switchboard, it will be a major problem.”
Board members also approved the following purchase orders:
— Two teaching and learning curriculum purchases for the 2024-25 school year, including Curriculum Associates’ i-Ready Platform Curriculum ($138,133.50) and HMH’s 10th and 11th grade Literature Curriculum ($55,084.20).
“This time of year we're always looking ahead and a lot of our July orders are for the curriculum for the year,” Superintendent Tim Wright said.
— New intercom systems for North Murray High School and Murray County High School manufactured by Southwestern Communications Inc., for $89,990 and $53,752.65, respectively.
“We are replacing the intercom system at North Murray, but the intercom system at Murray County (High School) is tied to the construction of a new gymnasium, so that will be done in the future,” Wright said. “The goal (for the North Murray intercom) is to have it completed before the start of the new school year in the fall.”
Wright said part of the cost of North Murray's new intercom system will be covered by security grant funding the system receives from the province.
“The state has given us $49,500 per school, which is a little bit more than last year, so that's great,” he said.
— Networking and cabling by G&A Contracting Inc., Blairsville, for the Northwest Elementary School renovation project, $25,100.
“This is some of the wiring and electrical needed for the kitchen and administrative areas,” Wright said.
— Two transportation-related purchases: $228,220.14 for the renovation of a school bus from Peterbilt and $151,251.86 for the purchase of several air conditioning units for buses from Yancey Air.
