Pulaski Schools approves design of health and wellness buildings

Carla Slavey, Commonwealth Journal, Somerset, Ky.
·2 min read

Jul. 20—At last Tuesday's meeting for the Pulaski County Board of Education, board members approved the schematics for the proposed health and wellness centers that will be going in at Northern Middle School and Southern Middle School.

Steven Toby of Deco Architects told board members that two buildings are intended to be practically identical, save for having different paint schemes that will reflect the schools they are located at.

Both buildings will be built near their schools' respective soccer fields, and both will be around 15,000 square feet, Toby said.

The first floor will feature a basketball court/gym floor, offices, a storage room, an exercise room and a meeting/locker room.

There will also be a platform — not a stage, Toby emphasized — that could be used to host plays or hand out awards.

"When we met with [Deco officials], we were trying to find a place where we could not only meet the needs of our student teams, but also it could be used for musicals," said Superintendent Patrick Richardson. "The band and choir could use it, and there's also going to be a workout area where teachers and staff can come and work out after hours."

The second floor will feature a walking track overlooking the gym floor. There will be three lanes for runners who want to compete against each other.

Toby said, "If you set up some cushy pads at the end, you have actually got a full 40 meters for the football coach to run 40's on."

Richardson pointed out that the facility can be used for track or cross country teams to practice.

Toby said the plan was to have everything in place to start bidding out the project by mid-January. That would give the winning bidder time to order supplies for spring.

The project is being mostly funded through the district's Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funds.

While there is no official completion date for the project, Richardson noted that the ESSER funding had to be spent by September 2024, so he expected the project to be done by then.

"It's a great opportunity to use the ESSER funds to pay for the majority of the project," Richardson said.

Also at the meeting, board members agreed to revise funding plans for the turf and track projects at both high schools' football fields.

Richardson explained that there was a recent change in laws that allowed school districts to use capital construction fund bonds to pay for such projects.

Originally, the district thought it would need to do the funding through a general fund bond.

Richardson said the change would be better for the district.

Carla Slavey can be reached at cslavey@somerset-kentucky.com