Bids on a new $2,236,500 high school cafeteria have been accepted by the Neshoba County Board of Education, Superintendent Lundy Brantley announced Friday morning on WWSL’s Stew Daddy Road Show, airing live from the library.
Dr. Brantley, along with administrators and several teachers, joined host Jeff Stewart for the three-hour radio show, which celebrated not only the new cafeteria announcement but also the three schools’ and over-all district’s new state accountability rating.
“There’s always a feeling here that you don’t get anywhere else,” Stewart said amid the hot coffee and laughter, as he searched for music by Neshoba Central graduate Michael Hardy to play over the radio during breaks.
TerryMark Construction of Meridian was awarded the bid to construct the new 9,100 square foot Neshoba Central cafeteria, which will be located directly behind the new high school.
“If you stand behind the high school and look left, you will see where it will be,” Dr. Brantley said. “Students will walk out the back door and be at the cafeteria. It will be a standalone building. If we want to have something in the cafeteria at night, we won’t have to open the high school.”
The new cafeteria will also include new kitchen equipment and restrooms as well as projector equipment and a drop down screen for meetings, etc.
“A couple appliances from the old cafeteria may be moved over to the new one,” Brantley said.
The new facility will seat around 300 students at one time.
“TerryMark has 365 days to complete the project,” Brantley said. “We are having our pre-construction meeting on Oct. 1 so we are looking at a Sept. 30, 2020, completion.”
The exterior will look somewhat similar to the new high school.
Dr. Brantley said the new cafeteria goes along with goal five of the school district’s strategic plan: “To maintain a clean and healthy learning environment and develop a progressive, state-of-the-art campus.”
While the cafeteria was initially going to be constructed through a Federal Emergency Management Agency grant, Brantley said the School Board later elected to go with their back-up plan to fund it through the district.
The lengthy grant process would have pushed the cafeteria back about nine months, Brantley said.
The School Board rejected the initial cafeteria bids in July after they came in over budget.
“We made a few adjustments and re-bid it and it came in well,” Brantley said. “We were really pleased.”
After the cafeteria is completed, Brantley and his team will start the bid package for demolition of the old high school in the fall of 2020.
“We will have to get this cafeteria built first,” he said. “The current Ag, ROTC and old cafeteria will not likely be demolished with the old school. We are, hopefully, going to add culinary arts in there at some point.”
Tommy Holland, athletic director and director of student services, lauded the new near $1.4 million football stadium for radio listeners on Friday.
The home side features seating for 2,600 but can easily seat 3,000. The visitor side’s official capacity is 800 but could easily seat 1,000.
About 5,000 to 6,000 people are expected to fill the stadium throughout the day on Oct. 12 when Neshoba hosts a state marching band competition.
“It will start at 8 a.m. and last to about 10 at night,” Brantley said.
For the second consecutive year, Neshoba Central Elementary was rated an A based on Mississippi’s A-F accountability system which evaluates how schools and districts performed in the 2018-19 school year
Neshoba Central High School went from a C to a B rating, while the middle school remained a B.
The county school district remained a B.
The Neshoba County School District was in the top 15 districts in acceleration and college and career readiness.
Principals shared their excitement over the new ratings during a portion of the road show.
Elementary Principal Tiffany Plott informed radio listeners that Neshoba kindergarten is number one in the state for the third consecutive year. And the elementary once again received an “A” accountability rating.
“That’s a lot of hard work by teachers, students and parents,” she said.
“I saw the amazing potential when I came here. They don’t even need me anymore. They are phenomenal.”
Plott is starting her sixth year at the helm at NCES.
She also discussed her school’s food pantry where students in need are given a backpack filled with food to take home each Friday.
She expressed appreciation to her teachers and staff as well as the community, noting that no one “wants any kid to leave Neshoba Central Elementary School without knowing they are loved.”
Elementary teacher Robin McClellan talked about the new STEM program at Neshoba Elementary and Dawn Hedgpeth discussed her work as an interventionist.
Several others discussed their roles in the school district as well.