Three simultaneous construction projects on three Tallapoosa County Schools campuses are expected to wrap up within the next two months.
Superintendent Ray Porter told school board meeting attendees Monday that the school system is "moving into the final weeks" of its projects at Dadeville High School, Reeltown Elementary School and Horseshoe Bend School.
"We don't go by absolutes when there are weather and supply-chain issues, but we are certainly in the final days of the three projects," he said. "We're looking at those coming to a close and revealing those to the public."
Last year, Tallapoosa County Schools approved a $12.5 million contract to replace the Reeltown Elementary schoolhouse, built in 1929, with a larger facility on the same campus, shared with the high school. According to 2020 Census results released in August, Reeltown, despite its size, was the only Tallapoosa County community to see significant growth in the past 10 years. The other two projects are smaller in scope, including the replacement of the Dadeville High School field house and the construction of an auditorium at Horseshoe Bend.
After the board meeting, Porter said it was safe to say all three projects will be complete by mid-February. As with Alexander City Schools, which still awaits completion on one of its elementary schools, the county school system has suffered from construction-market volatility. Reeltown Elementary was originally forecast to be in-use by January 2022, and the other projects have been delayed about one semester.
"Supply-chain issues, subs, finding people to work — that's been across the board in all of those projects," Porter said. "Down here COVID issues have hit each one, all three sites, so the same thing that all of us are going through, those construction sites are going through. But the finished product is looking exactly like we had it drawn up."
Meanwhile, renovation of Horseshoe Bend's roofing, heating and air conditioning is still underway, with another two projects — new gyms at Dadeville and Reeltown high schools — in the queue. Architectural and engineering plans for the project are currently underway, Porter told the board of education. The board has yet to begin its search for a contractor.
