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Board creates facilities committee and discusses urgent gym air‑conditioning, larger renovation work
Summary
Board members said a new facilities committee will develop a permanent facilities plan and discussed emergency air‑conditioning work for high‑school gyms and a major junior‑high renovation with an estimated $30 million total cost and about $19 million remaining to complete.
Board members at the April 15 Tangipahoa Parish School Board meeting discussed forming a facilities committee to develop a permanent, system‑wide facilities plan and described immediate needs for air‑conditioning and electrical work at high‑school gyms.
“...there's some work that needs to be done throughout the parish and for its facilities,” a board member said when explaining the committee’s charge, which will review data with administration and produce an evolving facilities plan.
Board members said the committee was created from an earlier maintenance and budgeting review and that the board president, Mister Toler, was asked to adjust committee membership and scope. A timeframe mentioned in the meeting aimed to have committee membership finalized in early May so work could begin promptly.
Separately, board discussion described an urgent need to make gym space usable during hot months. One speaker said the gym windows and large fans did not function properly last summer and that adding air‑conditioning would require electrical work, concrete pads and possibly generators. The speaker estimated additional costs for wiring and site work at roughly $20,000–$30,000 for certain items and said the electrical hook‑ups for units and the wiring to panels create implementation complexity.
The board also discussed a large renovation project (identified in the transcript in connection with a junior‑high school project) with a full‑cost estimate presented as about $30,000,000. The speaker stated that roughly $10,000,000 of work — described as roofs and some interior work — has been completed and that about $19,000,000 remained to finish the listed interior renovations, roofing panels and insulation. The speaker said parts of the remaining scope involve code work and will require architects and further procurement steps.
Board members said the projects will require moving quickly to preserve building usability ahead of upcoming school activities, and staff indicated they would return with further cost breakdowns and designs for committee review.
