Ross Collins roofing project hits snag

Nov. 15—A new round of construction projects will soon begin at Carver Elementary School, while reroofing at Ross Collins Career and Technical Center is going to be a little more costly than anticipated thanks to some drainage problems on the roof.

During a regular school board meeting on Monday, Meridian school board members voted to approve using money from a contingency fund to adjust the roof drain levels on Ross Collins, which has been undergoing a reroofing project. The board also approved a second change order to the project to remove and replace wet insulation at a cost of $23,800 after excessive moisture retention was discovered during demolition of the existing roof system.

"You start pulling stuff off roofs and you just never know," school board president Sally Gray told Clay Sims, the district's Director of Operations.

Sims agreed. The changes will add 45 days to the project, which is being funded through federal pandemic relief money through the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief, or ESSER, Fund.

"Change order No. 2, which we request, will increase the project. The total contract price with change order No. 2 will now be $752,821.80," he said. "This is an ESSER money project."

In a separate project, funded through the $34 million school bond issue, the school board accepted a bid by J&J Contractors for additional renovations to Carver Elementary School. The renovations, expected to cost more than $2.3 million, will separate the bus and car rider lines, bringing the bus lines around to the back of the building where a new entrance will be created for those students. A new car rider entrance and drop off point will be added in front of the building, as well as an addition to the cafeteria and more restrooms.

School board member Kim Houston asked Sims if he had received any quotes on adding "George Washington" before the word "Carver" to the exterior of the building, a proposal she had inquired about at the last school board meeting. The official name of the school is George Washington Carver Elementary School. Houston has said it would be nice to add the full name of the school, but she preferred not to go over budget just to make the change.

"Don't have a cost on that but we have made the request and we will make that adjustment" when the costs are received, he said.

On Monday, the school board also approved a resolution authorizing and directing the district to borrow money from Trustmark Bank through a $5 million Tax Anticipation Promissory Note. The money may not be needed but will give the district a cushion as it pays its vendors and expenses and funds construction projects while waiting for revenues from tax collections and other sources to come in, said Carolyn Davis, the district's chief fiscal officer.

The cash flow from tax collections generally starts coming in between December and February and the loan agreement is just a precaution for this time of year when the district's cash balance is lower, she told board members.

"We very well may not have to touch a penny of this $5 million but it's there in case we need it. We are not alone. Other districts do this routinely, get a tax anticipation loan," Gray said in applauding Davis in her efforts for "watching out for the district."

In other business, the school board voted to approve the filing of temporary work visas, called H1-Bs, to hire three certified teachers from the Philippines to teach math and special education classes in the middle schools.

"This is to help us fill some positions we were unable to fill at the beginning of the year and positions that have recently opened," said Kimberly Kendrick, director of human resources.

Kendrick said she has talked with the human resource directors at other school districts in Mississippi who currently hire teachers from outside the U.S. for hard-to-fill positions and believes this is presently the best option available for the district. Meridian, like most school districts in the state, has struggled to find teachers in the midst of a state and nationwide teacher shortage. The three teachers are certified and currently teaching in the Philippines, Kendrick said.

It is not the first time the school district has had to bring in educators from outside the U.S. to teach in the district though it has been several years since the move was needed, board attorney John Compton told school board members.

The board voted to approve the attorney cost and filing fees for the three teachers at a cost of $22,380. Kendrick said a fourth teacher may also be needed due to a recent resignation.

Also at the meeting, the school board approved adding chemical agent policy and procedures and taser policy and procedures to the district's campus police department policies and procedures manual, giving campus police options that are already in practice in the Lauderdale County School District and other school districts.

Contact Glenda Sanders at gsanders@themeridianstar.com.