Air conditioning finally arrives at Hoover, part of $994,500 in improvements

I stopped into Hoover school today to get a look at the ongoing renovation. The district decided to spend over $615,000 $994,500 to renovate Hoover this summer, and it shows: the building looks like one big workshop, with everything temporarily dislocated, ceilings down, rooms cleared, etc. Air conditioning is finally going in, as well as new wiring throughout the building, painting, roof repair and replacement, new carpeting and tile flooring in many parts of the building, completely new fixtures and handicapped-accessibility improvements in the bathrooms, motion-sensitive lighting, newly installed security cameras and doors, and some asbestos abatement. The building should be ready for kids to start school in mid-August.

It’s hard to believe that the school board plans to close the school and tear down the building just a few years after investing this much money in it. A lot of heads are shaking about that plan. The board has committed to reviewing the facilities plan, including the Hoover closure, annually; I’m still optimistic that at some point—though maybe not until we elect new board members in 2015—the board will come to its senses about keeping Hoover open.

Update: These upgrades to Hoover reportedly came in under budget, though it's not clear by how much. The district budgeted $1.5 million for Hoover, but some portion of that was for the eventual demolition of the building. In any event, the cost of the upgrades this summer reportedly came in at just over $615,000. This post has been updated to reflect that information.

Update #2: District records now show that the project cost $994,500, so this post has been updated to reflect that.