Aug 16, 2016 2 min read

JEFFERSON – Students at Jefferson-Morgan will be starting the school year on time despite several construction projects from the summer that are finishing up.

“There were some rumors going around that we wouldn’t start on time, but that’s not true,” school board President John Shaffer said.

Students will return to the district Aug. 29 and teachers will start Aug. 23.

The district is in the second phase of its $4.6 million renovation project, which began in the spring of 2015, with a new roof, new heating and ventilation systems and new windows. This summer, the district took on painting the schools’ interiors and the gym, paving roads and parking lots and renovating the high school auditorium.

“In the auditorium, the seating and the flooring has been removed and we will have new floors and seats put in,” Superintendent Donna Furnier said. “It should be done some time this fall, hopefully by Nov. 1. It’s going to look really nice.”

The board met Monday night to approve and finalize some of the projects, one of which, included an additional $12,800 expenditure to fix a problem area in the parking lot near the front entrance of the high school.

“There was a soft spot near that entrance that we’d never had a problem with before,” school board member Bob Mitchell said.

Mitchell also said the walls in the lobby restrooms in one of the buildings were being repaired and work was being done to the fieldhouse Monday, though football and other fall sports already began.

In other business Monday, the board approved the retirement of W. Scott Lafferty, maintenance supervisor for the district for almost four years. The district also approved the support staff contract they were negotiating since January.

“The custodial staff hasn’t missed a beat,” Shaffer said. “The buildings will all be ready.”

The district also discussed its preparation for emergency situations. Furnier said state police Sgt. Steven Dowlin met with school officials recently to get a “framework for action” during emergencies such as active shooter or evacuation situations.

The schools are also training three teachers and two guidance counselors on a new countywide drug prevention curriculum. The training for the five county school districts will be held at Central Greene.