Chilton County Schools board hears updates on classrooms, gyms and stadium work
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Summary
Public commenters praised the board while a district representative outlined multiple facilities projects, including a 4-classroom addition at Verbena’s O.J. McGriff Annex, a new air-conditioned high school gym, HVAC upgrades for existing gyms and stadium renovations; funding sources were not specified in the meeting record.
At a regularly scheduled Chilton County Schools board meeting, public commenters offered praise for the district as a district representative outlined a series of planned and ongoing construction and renovation projects across county schools.
Roger Perkins, who identified himself as a county commissioner from Alabama but said he was not speaking for the commission, opened public remarks by praising the board’s work: "I just wanted to make a statement saying that, how proud I was of y'all." The meeting then heard an extended presentation about facility upgrades and new construction aimed at expanding classroom space and improving athletic and assembly facilities.
The unnamed presenter said the district is preparing to bid out a four-classroom addition at the O.J. McGriff Annex at Verbena Elementary, adding that each new classroom will include a bathroom and the annex will gain a working kitchen and lunchroom. "We have a 4 classroom addition that we're about to bid out," the presenter said. The speaker described the planned elementary gym as flexible for assemblies and said designs allow for future classroom expansion.
Athletic upgrades described at the meeting include a planned new high-school gym located adjacent to the baseball field and renovations that will create multiple practice spaces. "This gym will be air conditioned," the presenter said, and the district intends to add air conditioning to all six existing high school gyms. The presenter also described recent and ongoing stadium work — new entrances, a ticket booth, concessions, restrooms and a press box on the visitor side to replace the existing "Twin Towers" — and noted a prior grant application to fund lights for the baseball field.
Other items discussed included upgrades to the Chilton County High School auditorium (new lobby, LED lighting and 5-by-12 video boards), playground and courtyard improvements, and land purchases: the presenter said the district purchased 15 acres in Isabella to support forthcoming projects there. The presenter emphasized that academic classrooms remain the board’s top priority and listed Maplesville, Jameson and Thorpey among schools with classroom needs.
The meeting record includes two procedural motions: a motion to approve the agenda (moved and seconded) and a motion to adjourn (moved and seconded). The transcript records that votes were called but does not include tallies or explicit outcomes for those motions.
The transcript does not specify funding sources, total project budgets, timelines for completion, or final approvals by the board for the projects described. According to remarks in the meeting, at least one project (baseball field lights) has been supported by a grant application; other funding details were not stated.
