PANAMA CITY — Work is continuing at Hiland Park Elementary School, where renovation of two classroom buildings and remodeling of the old cafeteria into a new administration building are scheduled to be finished in August 2016.
Hiland Park Principal Rhonda Woodward said the current administration building is outdated.
“We’re thrilled, very excited,” she said.
The renovations will increase learning capabilities and help teachers and students have more pride in the school, she said. All the changes would bring the school up to date, Woodward said.
Hiland Park is one of several schools seeing changes financed by the half-cent sales tax, which was renewed in 2010.
Bay District Schools facility director John Bozarth said one of the next scheduled projects is renovation at Cedar Grove Elementary, a project currently being bid on. Cedar Grove is scheduled for additions to its media center, Bozarth said, along with expansion of the administration center.
Cedar Grove Principal Phillip Campbell said the media center remodeling will provide more computer charging stations, with stations even at some of the seating. There will be wireless presence, as well, at the school.
“This will be the latest and greatest media center,” said Campbell, who added the center will be “state-of-the-art.”
According to Campbell, the renovation work at the school will start this summer, likely finishing by December 2016. Campbell said the kindergarten teachers were “super excited” about classroom renovations.
“The half-cent tax really is a blessing,” he said.
Finished projects: Mosley High Principal Sandy Harrison said renovation for that school was “99.9 percent” complete, adding there were a few loose ends still.
“It’s awesome,” Harrison said of the school changes, including work on the gym.
Harrisonsaid acoustic tiles and wooden flooring was put in the gym over the past two summers.
In Mosley “building 1,” new flooring and new walls were installed, making the building more soundproof. Other renovations include new hallway lighting and changes to doors so they don’t open into the hallways.
The kitchen was refurbished, Harrison said, with the biggest change coming to the lunchroom, where new lighting was placed in the common area and a new outdoor eating area was opened.
The renovations were overdue, she said, adding she is a huge fan of the half-cent sales tax.
Merritt Brown Elementary also is listed in a Bay District Schools project expenditure report as having completed covered walks. In an email, Principal Charlotte Marshall said the covered walks “are built to keep students who have classes in portable buildings from getting wet.”
“Students were drenched during class change,” she said.
Springfield Elementary had a new multipurpose cafeteria students could move into, Bozarth said, with the old cafeteria being renovated to make use for new classrooms.
Other projects include heating and cooling systems at Beach schools, which have issues with air conditioning because of saltwater, Bozarth said.
An ongoing list of construction needs is maintained by Bay District Schools in a five-year plan required by law. The budget for renovations and projects is overseen by Bozarth, and a citizens oversight committee made up of volunteers from the community reviews the expenditure report for half-cent projects.
Twenty-one projects are listed in the district’s half-cent sales tax expenditure report that covers the October to December 2014 period. As of Dec. 31, $83 million had been collected and $83 million had been spent since the 2010 sales tax renewal.