The first step in realigning the structure of Corner Middle and Bagley schools has been taken.

Interim Supt. Bobby Neighbors announced Thursday that the two schools would finally embark on a process that had been under consideration for more than a decade — back when he was the full-time superintendent of the Jefferson County Schools.

Under the new plan, Corner would house classes in fifth through eighth grades, while Bagley would be home to kindergarten through fourth grade.

The realignment, which was announced in a special called meeting of the Jefferson County Board of Education, would take place in the 2015-16 school year. Neighbors, who is serving as interim superintendent until the end of the month, said he would have liked to have put the plan in place this year. “But there’s too many parents who have already bought cheerleading uniforms and such,” he joked.

Currently, both schools have kindergarten through eighth grade classes.

The move was made possible by the new Corner High School, which holds grades 9 through 12.

The old Corner school was chosen for the older grades because it has facilities already in place for middle-school sports.

Neighbors had praise for Corner principal Mike Manning and his work on a transition plan. “Mike has been working on this for years, and has this transition down month by month,” the superintendent said.

The realignment is still in planning stage; it could come up for formal approval as early as the board’s next scheduled meeting on June 17.

The board also took steps toward repairing the football field at Pinson Valley High, as well as planning for a new practice field adjacent to the school.

A contract was awarded to LBYD, a civil engineering firm from Birmingham, to assess the situation with the current field and plan for the practice field.

JefCoEd Athletics Director Ken Storey said that repairs could begin quickly once a plan of action is determined. “We have a contractor on bid up to a certain amount, and we could start very quickly,” he said.

The playing surface at Willie Adams Stadium has been torn up with heavy use by multiple groups, to the point where sand-filled ruts run for much of the length of the field. It’s a situation that has gotten the Pinson City Council involved, with Mayor Hoyt Sanders and Councilman Joe Cochran in attendance to press their case with the board.

One solution that’s been discussed by the council is to put artificial turf on the field, with the cost to be split between the city and the board in return for increased access by youth sports programs. It’s similar to an arrangement at Clay-Chalkville High that was approved Thursday by the board.

But Neighbors warned Sanders and Cochran to proceed cautiously. “Be careful what you wish for. We may need to see how this works out at Clay-Chalkville first,” he said.

Nevertheless, Sanders was pleased that the board is making progress toward fixing the damaged field.

“If they can progress as timely as they promised, and the field is at least safe and repaired to the extent it can be for fall, then we can look at the practice field, turf and some of these other options,” he said. 

In other business, the board appointed Craft Construction Company to begin repair work on North Jefferson Middle School. The contract includes repairs to the gym roof and replacing its floor, as well as the floor of the stage. All were damaged by the tornado which struck Kimberly in late April.

Board President Jennifer Parsons said the repairs are expected to be completed in about 90 days — not quite in time for the opening of fall classes in early August, but in time for basketball season.

“We’ve set up the volleyball schedule to play road games at first, but we have a plan in place to move them to Mortimer Jordan or the Burkett Center if we need to,” said Deputy Supt. Anna Vacca.

The board also hired Brett Kirkham as its new human resources director, filling a position which had been vacant since March.