By Staff
Staff Reports
The Brewton City School Board approved four emergency contracts on Monday, Sept. 20, to repair damages that resulted from Hurricane Ivan.
Roof repairs to the science building at T.R. Miller High School will be handled by WAR Construction, and new carpet for the four science class rooms has been ordered from Sherwin Williams. Superintendent Lynn Smith said that the carpet is expected to be delivered today and installed by this weekend.
The board also approved a contract with Professional Mechanics to replace air conditioning compressors at Brewton Elementary School. Finally, the board will contract with Shane Riddle to cut trees, remove stumps and clean up debris on school property.
Damage was also sustained at the T.R. Miller High School stadium. The school board is investigating contractors who could repair the fallen light pole or replace all of the stadium light poles with concrete ones. While the stadium light poles are covered by the school system's insurance policy, Smith said he is not sure whether the damaged scoreboard will be.
Smith said he would also like to have a structural engineer examine the stadium bleachers to be absolutely sure they are safe before people use them.
Brewton City Schools will be closed for at least the rest of this week, but if electricity is restored by Friday, they will reopen on Monday, Sept. 27.
Escambia County Superintendent Buck Powell said he is hopeful county schools will re-open on Monday, too.
While some schools have portions than are not available for use, Powell said each principal is attempting to make arrangements to move classes so school can resume.
Escambia County High School in Atmore lost the roof of the career tech building and the band room. There also was severe damage to the football stadium, Powell said, adding that he doubts another night game can be played there this year.
A.C. Moore Elementary School lost the roof of the auditorium. "The only thing it's good for is if we want to have an astronomy class," Powell said.
Rachel Patterson Elementary School had roof damage to four classrooms, the gymnasium and the cafeteria. A contractor was meeting with school officials Tuesday to determine if the cafeteria could be repaired quickly, allowing the school to reopen.
Escambia County Middle School lost the awnings from walkways and some windows, and had roof damage to the library and computer room.
Huxford Elementary School had a tree in the cafeteria, which was removed with the help of Huxford Pole and Timber.
Flomaton High School had water damage to two classrooms.
Flomaton Elementary School and Flomaton Middle School lost trees and awnings.
Neal Elementary School and Neal Middle School had minor damages.
Neal High School lost the cafeteria room.
Pollard-McCall School lost a number of shingles and will need a new roof.
Turtle Point had trees down and minor damages.
Electrical power was restored to the central office just in time to complete payroll, he said, so teachers don't need to be concerned about their paychecks.
Jefferson Davis Community College President Dr. Susan McBride said that parts of the Brewton campus had power restored as early as Tuesday. Classes will resume on Monday, Sept. 27.