The Jefferson County Board of Education has released a three-phase plan to build seven new schools and perform major renovations at nine more over the next three years.

Nez Calhoun, spokesperson for the Jefferson County Board of Education, said the move was aimed at getting students out of trailers and older buildings. She said the board currently has 75 trailers and 10,000 students in buildings that were built before 1970.

The plan to overhaul or replace a large portion of the buildings in the county school system will come at a cost of $200 million, according to the board.

“These improvements will ensure advanced infrastructure and safety additions that are not currently present,” the BOE said in a news release.

The release also said this project will be funded by the renewed property tax that voters reapproved in March of this year.

The first phase includes a new Warrior Elementary School that would replace the aging building and would allow for rezoning to alleviate overcrowding at Bryan Elementary School.

Phase two would include renovation of Pinson Valley High School’s athletic fields.

Phase three would also include the building of a new Fultondale High School or Middle School, the decision on which has not yet been made and may rely in part on the outcome of the Gardendale School court case decision. If a new high school building is built, then it would also involve the demolition of the current building.

Calhoun said there were still things to be decided, and, in some cases, possibly even land to be purchased to complete some of the new builds, but said the board is excited to have a preliminary plan in place for their next phase of building and renovations. Calhoun also said the board would make the information about each project public as details are finalized leading up to construction beginning.

“Our school board is still developing specific plans for the construction projects that are part of the capital outlay plan,” the board’s news release said. “Once those plans are more concrete, the Board will share them with the parties to the school system’s ongoing federal desegregation case in order to receive their feedback and will submit the final plan to the federal court for its approval before moving forward with any construction. In continuing our efforts to involve all stakeholders, we will be scheduling several community meetings to listen and collaborate on these projects and our district’s future.”