BOE plans renovation for wrestling facility

Published 5:00 pm Wednesday, June 28, 2023

MOULTRIE — The Colquitt County Board of Education had a lengthy discussion Monday about potential renovations for a wrestling facility before choosing the less expensive of two options.

Chief Financial Officer Jeremy Jones briefly introduced the project to the board during the work session.

The two options under discussion are renovations at two different buildings at the former Colquitt County High School on Veterans Parkway: the former JROTC building, at an estimated cost of $467,208; or the former gymnasium at an estimated cost of $2.4 million.

During the regular session, board member Jon Schwalls of District 2 moved to table the decision and form a study committee, but his motion died for lack of a second.

Board member Kevin Sumner of District 6 moved to go forward with renovating the former JROTC building, which was seconded by board member Darren Hembree of District 5. The proposal passed 5-1.

Jones had recommended renovation of the JROTC facility instead of the gymnasium after input from the architect representative, the district’s athletic director and the wrestling team’s head coach. This option could take between seven to eight months to complete, he said.

“If you put that seven or eight months on the calendar, it’s going to coincide right when the rest of the season is over. We can jump in there and hopefully get that building taken care of before the next wrestling season, sort of the same approach we’re going for softball,” Jones explained. “We wanted to make sure that we have enough time to get the project done, so it doesn’t hinder the next season.”

Schwalls asked, “What was the problem with using the gymnasium?”

That’s when Jones revealed the $2.4 million price tag, which includes site work, new construction on locker rooms, modifications of the concession stands and the lobby area, and ceiling damage. One area of specific concern was the chipping of paint.

“The architect said the only way to fix that is to do a drop ceiling, so the cost of putting a drop ceiling in to alleviate the paint chips from falling and then you’ve got contingency and design costs and inflation cost,” Jones said.

Schwalls then questioned, “So what’s the big to-do with the paint chipping? So what, the paint’s chipping?”

Jones responded, “What the head wrestling coach said is that it falls on those mats at any time, and just with the way that the wrestling is, that most paint chips being all over the place. Anytime you’ve got people getting sweating and wrestling and those chips sticking to them. It was a concern that he walked through there with the architect, and that’s what they’ve told us. It just wasn’t ideal for having wrestling in there.”

Chairman Mary Beth Watson asked about the vinyl composite tile flooring (VCT). She said most people were shying away from that product due to wax and upkeep.

Jones said he would ask the architect about the flooring choice.

The cost estimate to replace the flooring with VCT was listed as $8,296, shown in shared documents.

Other actions

The CCSD Administration made a lengthy presentation before the board regarding the district’s strategic plan. The board heard from Jones, Chief Communications Officer Angela Hobby, Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum and Instruction Dr. Marni Kirkland and the Assistant Superintendent of Student Services Dr. Irma Townsend.

The five-year plan was approved at the June 2022 board meeting and has five goal areas including:

• Student Growth, Achievement, & Success.
• Stakeholder Communication & Engagement.
• Positive, Healthy, and Safe Culture & Climate.
• Organizational & Operational Effectiveness.
• Quality Workforce.

Kirkland presented the curriculum portion of the plan with preliminary data about standardized tests shared by the state Department of Education. Official reports are not expected until July. She said students’ reading scores showed improvement, and she credited the performance to the teachers and the new curriculum. Other subjects like math and science showed minor improvements, which Kirkland said will show growth due to a new curriculum being considered for math. The district recently moved to a more hands-on, experimental plan for science.

She said the district is in year two of its strategic plan so growth will be gradual.

The public can view the plan through the district’s online board archive.

The board considered the May 2023 financials, the FY24 final budget and salary schedule, end zone stands for Mack Tharpe Stadium and the local school board governance annual training report for 2022-2023.

During the work session, board member Trudie Hill of District 1 asked a question about the end zone stands: “How many handicap seats will there be?” She raised concern about residents who might have families that would like to take them to the games and not have adequate seating.

Jones explained there will be three ADA-approved handicap seats on each design, and it will increase the existing handicap seating.

The remaining motions were approved 6-0. The next scheduled BoE meeting will begin at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, July 18.