The WCHS Pioneer basketball teams will bid farewell to the floor beneath their feet when this season ends as a new gym floor is in the works, according to the strategic plan approved by the School Board.
The replacement of both the main gym floor at Warren County High School, along with the alternative gym located upstairs from the main gym, will have an estimated cost of $272,000. The plan calls for the gym floor to be replaced during the upcoming summer break to be ready when school begins for the 2013-14 school year.
It was pointed out the gym floor is the same one from the completion of the original school in the early 1990s.
“We’ve had to sand it down about four times and that’s probably two more than is recommended,” said Director of Schools Bobby Cox of the difficulty in maintaining the old floor. Cox noted the estimated price tag includes the price of tearing out the old floors and putting in new ones.
The floor is among $1.46 million in expenditures included in the strategic plan through 2013. The plan also calls for septic system updates, which are already well under way at Eastside, and a campus security fence at Dibrell.
While the high school gym floor will be an obvious improvement, many of the investments will be invisible to the untrained eye. Those upgrades include new wiring at Warren County Middle School, Bobby Ray, West Elementary and Warren Academy. Also included will be upgrades to the HVAC system at Bobby Ray.
The following year will see several upgrades to Bobby Ray, including a new gym floor in the summer of 2014 along with wiring and lighting. An estimated $500,000 has been earmarked for the school’s improvement during the 2014-15 year.
The same year will see upgrades at the high school, middle school, Warren Academy and central office from T12 to T8 lighting systems.