A Birmingham architectural firm has been hired to renovate the current Mortimer Jordan High School Campus in Morris so that it will be handicapped-accessible when the time comes to move the William E. Burkett Center School to the campus.

Jim Hartsell, an architect with Davis Architects, said he has spent the last few months, especially the last two weeks, designing renovations for the campus. Davis Architects is also the same firm that designed the new Mortimer Jordan campus on Bone Dry Road in Kimberly, and Hartsell said the timetable for moving the Burkett School largely depends on when the new campus is complete.

“We’re doing a little work to the exterior, but most of the work is interior renovation,” said Hartsell. “Most of the work we’re doing is just renovating a lot of the classrooms.”

The Burkett School is a special needs school, so Hartsell and the other architects are redesigning Mortimer Jordan to be more handicapped accessible. In addition to remodeling classrooms, restrooms will have to be remodeled to accommodate wheelchair access, and several walkways and ramps would need to be added. Board of Education Director of New Construction Dr. Rafael McDaniel said there would be a greater need for storage space as well.

Hartsell said he has designed special needs classrooms before, and has also worked on several Jefferson County Board of Education projects, including the new Corner and Gardendale high schools.

“We’ve been up there a lot… It’s a good use for the school,” said Hartsell.

Several renovations were done to the Morris campus about six years ago, including 10 new classrooms.

“I feel like it’s an excellent place for them,” said Mortimer Jordan Principal Barbara Snider, who graduated from the school. “With the school occupied, it’s going to have life.”

Snider said she feels the school is small enough to be accessible to the Burkett students. The school also only has one floor, and Snider said the lack of stairs will help wheelchair-bound and other handicapped students get around the campus. She also said the campus’s gymnasium will be a boon to Burkett.

“It’s a great thing for the community, and I think the students are going to be embraced by them,” said Snider.

The Board of Education had been considering undertaking a major construction project to build onto Burkett’s current campus in Birmingham a few months ago, but the original proposal went about $1.4 million over budget.