BLOUNTVILLE, Tenn. – Sullivan County school board members discussed the allocation of more than $9 million in Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief funds for the maintenance and repair of Sullivan County school roofs and HVAC systems on Wednesday.
The estimated total in emergency relief, or ESSER, funds for roof repairs is more than $3 million, with five of the 16 schools in the Sullivan County system needing roofs repaired. Two of those, Mary Hughes Elementary and Miller Perry Elementary, need complete roof replacements.
Sullivan County Director of Schools Evelyn Rafalowski pointed out that Mary Hughes Elementary is also at the top of the list for HVAC repairs, which could cost upward of $2.2 million.
“Mary Hughes, as you can see, came on the list as number one for roof replacement, and also in the HVAC column; the entire building needs a new roof. The estimate to replace the shingle roof with standing seam metal, replace the facia, and new guttering is about $780,000,” Rafalowski said. “They currently have AC units in the windows, and the boilers need replacing with central HVAC.”
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The other schools that have been identified for roof repairs are: Bluff City Elementary ($600,000), Emmett Elementary ($250,000), Miller Perry Elementary ($500,000), and Ketron Elementary ($150,000).
In terms of HVAC repairs, the estimated total in ESSER funds that the school board is looking to allocate is $5,975,000, with a lot of schools needing new boilers and old AC units replaced.
The six schools that need HVAC repairs are: Mary Hughes Elementary ($2.2 million), Bluff City Elementary ($750,000), Sullivan Heights Middle School ($1,025,000), Indian Springs Elementary ($1.1 million), Miller Perry Elementary ($800,000) and Rock Springs Elementary ($100,000).
The deadline for ESSER projects is 2024, with Sullivan County Schools having $16 million at its disposal.
School board member Mark Ireson is ready to move forward with the proposed roofing and HVAC repairs, the price of which he stressed are currently only “guesstimates.”
“I’d like for us to do this and go ahead and start getting those bids out because a lot of this is guessing. I mean, most of this we really don’t know. This is all guesstimates,” Ireson said. “Let’s start forward and say we want to do these and get the numbers, and that way, we know where to go with it. I think it’s kind of hard to say let’s spend five, four million, and then all of a sudden we only have two left.”
The Sullivan County Board of Education will vote on the proposed ESSER projects when it meets in its regularly scheduled monthly meeting on Thursday.
Other topics that will be discussed at Thursday’s meeting include: proposed changes to the Sullivan County Schools exam exemption policy; approval of the 2023-2024 Sullivan County Schools calendar; and discussion about what to do with the Sullivan Heights Middle School pool.
Email: jmancera@bristolnews.com
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