The Greenwood Leflore Consolidated School District is still working through the process of financing renovations for school buildings.
At the school board’s last work session on Jan. 29, Dale Riser, principal architect of Beard + Riser, presented an assessment report of all the schools in the district and which were primary concerns. The firm ranked each school by condition from worst to best.
Under the “renovate or replace” category were Threadgill Elementary, Leflore County Junior High, Leflore County High, Bankston Elementary, Amanda Elzy High, Greenwood High, Threadgill Primary, Administrative Old Post Office (central office on Howard Street), Claudine Brown Elementary, and Amanda Elzy Junior High.
Under the “improve or renovate” category were East Elementary, Davis Elementary and Administrative Highway 82 West (Educational Services building).
Under the “improve or maintain” category was Leflore County Elementary.
Under the “adequate” category was Greenwood Middle School.
No schools were listed under the “superior” category.
Riser suggested that the school district reduce maintenance and utility costs by consolidating buildings to create more unity among the district, modernize buildings that aren’t too aged and out of the financial realm of possibility to renovate and improving efficiency among buildings, such as plumbing, roofing and energy preferences.
Riser also reported a 25% enrollment decline in the consolidated school district from 2004 to 2019, which correlates with the overall 23% population decrease in Greenwood and Leflore County from 2000 to 2018. Greenwood and Leflore County had separate districts until July 1 of last year.
Of some 94 buildings to maintain in the school district, that adds up to just over 890,000 square feet. It would cost $180 million to renovate every building at $200 per square foot.
However, Riser did not suggest completely revamping every single building, because that would be financially unrealistic for the district.
He suggested that the square footage between the three high schools be combined and that the district consider one new high school and renovating one existing high school. The combined square footage would be 245,200 square feet to replace the current three’s 307,949 square feet.
A new high school for 650 students would cost $20 million, and a new high school for 1,300 students would cost $40 million. Renovating Greenwood High School for 650 students would cost $12 million.
For the junior high level, Riser suggested that the district add 42,000 square feet to Greenwood Middle School to accommodate all junior high students, instead of operating multiple schools.
Renovating Greenwood Middle School for 900 students would cost $5 million.
For the elementary level, he suggested that the district consider one lower elementary and one upper elementary school to be combined and share what resources they can.
A new lower elementary school would cost $24 million, and a new upper elementary school would cost $25 million.
The school district said that as of Friday, there were no specifics on what needs to be done at each school or how much the potential renovations would cost. They plan to meet with a bond consultant at the next work session on Feb. 26 to discuss options for financing the projects.
“GLCSD has not authorized or discussed any building construction or changes at this time. If they do, that work will be under a separate contract with architects, and publicly bid so that a licensed general contractor in Mississippi may put in a bid for work,” Riser said in an email.
The primary concerns are roofing, plumbing and insulation within walls.
Darryl Gary, chief of maintenance for the school district, said that new roofs have been installed at Greenwood High School and the Threadgill Primary pre-kindergarten building. They have also been working on several other projects, such as new toilets, soap dispensers and paper towel holders across the school district.
“The department of maintenance will continue to maintain a safe, attractive, and clean environment,” Gary said.
“What we would like to see, possibly, is schools being moved into new schools where you can consolidate in that direction, but I don’t think we’ve approached the subject of closing or consolidating any schools to this point,” said Assistant Superintendent Charles Johnson.
“Looking at what they gave for proposed prices for renovation, those would take funds that we currently don’t have in the district, so that would be a cause for a need for bonds,” Johnson said. “But I think that if you approached the bond issue, you’d want it to be a new school rather than renovate it.”
Johnson also said that the next steps of the process would all depend on the feedback they got from contractors and bond consultants, and that more details would come later in the process.
•Contact Kerrigan Herret at 581-7233 or kherret@gwcommonwealth.com.
