VALDOSTA – The Lowndes County Schools Board of Education heard several construction updates and approved a policy revision for personnel leaves and absences during its meeting Monday.

Keith Barrett, the co-owner and president of Altman + Barrett Architects, began the update discussions with a presentation about the construction of a new facility for Lake Park Elementary School.

The Lowndes County Schools Board of Education unanimously approved the capital outlay project application that moved forward the construction of the new facility during the work session held Sept. 11.

On Monday, Barrett showed a potential floor plan that included a large green space and a two-story main hallway. Board members raised several concerns about the building not facing Highway 41 and how parking would be affected in the potential plan. No floor plan was selected during the regular session. The board members opted to save the discussion for their scheduled board retreat meeting on Tuesday.

The board then heard from Executive Director of Facilities and Operations Jeff Hill about construction projects across the district.

The Lowndes High School band storage building is estimated to be completed by Thanksgiving. Hill reminded the board that a completion date could change due to lagging effects from the recent storm.

Board Member Amy Stecz of District 6 asked, “Where are we at with track?” Interim Superintendent Sandra Wilcher said a committee was being established to access what all needed to be worked on for the team.

Stecz responded, “It’s going to be super impossible for us to run any type of track meet in February. I know we cannot have a new track by then. I’m well aware of that, but whatever repairs need to take place are going to have to take place before February.”

She continued explaining that the track is decaying in certain areas and has been worn down, which will prevent the district from hosting a decent meet in the near future.

Hill subsequently informed the board that the target date for central office additions has been moved to March 2024 and that there will be an upcoming update on the Dewar Elementary School classroom wing selection committee at one of the board’s October meetings.

The Dewar Elementary School project will be the construction of a structure of approximately 16,000 square feet and be connected to the existing structure. The project will consist of classrooms, restrooms and potentially other renovations and additions that may arise during programming.

Other actions

Students from Lowndes Middle School’s Y-LEAD club and a portion of individuals from the district’s Aspiring Leaders program were recognized at the beginning of the meeting. Youth Leadership Exploration and Development (Y-LEAD) is an organization of 8th graders and strives to ignite the leadership potential in middle school students and provide opportunities for those skills to grow, according to LMS Y-LEAD sponsor and 7th-grade social studies teacher Donna Coggins.

The board unanimously approved the finance report as presented by the LCS Assistant Superintendent for Finance and Operations. Chairman Ronnie Weeks of District 4 was absent from the vote.

The 2024-2025 academic school calendar, 2023-2024 revised instructional materials and the second reading for a policy revision regarding professional personnel leaves and absences were also approved in the consent agenda.

The Lowndes County Schools Board of Education’s regular session is scheduled for Monday, Oct. 2, at 6 p.m. in the boardroom chambers.