Work at new school site progressing on schedule

Pre-construction work at the Bethel Road site for the new Hartselle High School is moving forward on schedule, following receipt of a wetlands mitigation permit from the U S. Corps of Engineers, according to Nathan Tumberlin of Goodwin, Mills and Cawood, architect for the estimated $40 million project.
“We have a lot of people and equipment working out there now,” he said. “The stream cut has been made and is working well and a portion of the building pad is ready to begin filling and compacting.”
Project Manager Brian Moore said architectural drawing are 65 percent complete and on schedule for a Feb. 17, 2011, bid letting.
“We have a meeting scheduled on Dec. 16 to take inquiries from prospective bidders and I will be going to Montgomery next week to begin fine tuning construction cost estimates,” he said.
Tumberlin and Moore addressed the school board briefly at its regular monthly meeting Monday night.  Presentations were also made by Jeff Hyche, Hartselle High School principal and Dr. Nancy Horton, director of instruction.
Hyche briefed the board on the high school’s A-Plus College Ready Grant Program and plan, a new state high school graduation standard that will go into effect in 2012. The program is designed to increase the number of students involved in Advanced Placement classes, as well as improving test scores in those classes.
Horton reported on a trip she and Barkley Bride Elementary Principal Susan Hayes and F.E. Burleson Elementary Principal Sherry Calvert made to Orlando, FL last week for the national conference of Blue Ribbon Schools of Excellence.
At that conference, Barkley Bridge was honored as a new Blue Ribbon Lighthouse School and Hayes was presented a framed and numbered print of a lighthouse and a school banner to commemorate the achievement.  Hayes also gave two presentations, one involving the work of the school’s professional learning team and the other on parental involvement.
The board acted as follows:
•Approved an out-of-state field trip request from Hartselle High School Performers to travel to New Orleans, La. on Dec. 17-20.
• Approved Ernie Golden as a volunteer coach for Hartselle Junior High School’s boy’s and girl’s tennis teams for the 2010-2011 school year, effective Oct. 26.
•Approved William Partlow as a volunteer assistant coach for Hartselle Junior High School’s girl’s soccer team for the 2010-2011 school year, effective Oct. 26.