Jackson-Madison County School Board members tour facilities

JACKSON, Tenn. —  Members of the Jackson-Madison County School Board toured several facilities in the district Thursday ahead of their monthly school board meeting. Board members were able to get a first-hand look at some facilities in need of repairs.

School Superintendent Eric Jones, school board members and county commissioners took a tour of district facilities to review and identify needs.

“This really let the commissioners and the board really kind of see everything first hand,” Board Chairman Bob Alvey said.

Alvey said common problems are related to molding, roofs and water damage. “Some of the things that we saw today really I think is just unacceptable and they have got to be addressed,” he said.

The group had an opportunity to view the conditions at Madison Academic and South Side high schools. Alvey says the next step is to determine if some buildings are worth repairing.

“It’s kind of like an old car,” Alvey said. “Sometimes it makes sense to maintain it, other times the car just gets to a point where it’s not worth the amount of money you’re going to have to put into it.”

Dr. Jones will recommend ideas for building renovations at Thursday night’s board meeting.

“We really wanted to give him time to kind of look first hand at the plans that the district had made, but also what he’s thinking,” Alvey said.

In deciding how to move forward with repairing those facilities, school leaders say funding is a major factor. “If we put a lot of money into it, how much life will we really get versus if you build a new school and build it right then you’ll have a lot more serviceable life,” Alvey said.

Alvey said he’s glad the groups could come together to assess the damage.

The school system’s long range planning committee will meet Oct. 16 to discuss the conditions of the facilities in depth.