Repairs will soon begin on Cullman City Schools damaged by the March 19 hailstorm, but the extensive damage may not be repaired by the end of the summer.

The Cullman City School Board gave permission to contract with Steven Ward & Associates, Inc. to access, coordinate and bid the roofing projects from hail damage to East and West Elementary Schools during its meeting Tuesday night.

Cullman City Schools Support Services Coordinator Hayden Faulk said the first order of business will be to put a temporary roof on West Elementary to do a better job of keeping the rain out, and the work to replace the roof can begin once students are out of the building.

The company that is chosen for the project will aim for it to be completed by the end of the summer, but Faulk said he doubts that it will be finished before the beginning of the next school year. 

“It’s a big roof,” he said. “They might not get 100 percent of it done, but they’ll get the majority of it done this summer.” 

The repairs to West Elementary can begin sooner because of the emergency situation declared by the school board on March 20, which means the board will only have to get a few estimates from roofing companies before selecting one, Faulk said. 

He said East Elementary was not included in the board’s emergency declaration, so the project will have to go through the usual process of going out to bid.

East Elementary does not have the same damage as West, but the roof will eventually fail from the damage incurred from the storm, so it is best to take on that project now, he said. 

The board also received a clean report from the accounting firm that was responsible for the school system’s FY 2017 audit.

Jason Harpe, a partner for Carr, Riggs and Ingram, LLC, presented the audit to the board during its meeting, and said the firm gave an “unmodified opinion” to the board.

“It’s the highest opinion that you can have, and certainly one that you would expect,” he said. “We certainly didn’t have any difficulties with management. We didn’t have any kind of disagreements over any of the accounting concepts or procedures.”

Harpe also credited Cullman City Schools Chief School Financial Officer Russell Raney and the rest of the system’s finance department for the assistance that was provided in preparing the audit. 

“We certainly appreciate Russell and all of the accounting staff,” he said. “We appreciate him and what he does to get us our stuff so we can get in and get out.”

In other business, the board recognized Superintendent Susan Patterson for earning her AASA National Superintendent Certification, and Cullman High School Assistant Principal Aaron Sparks for writing and obtaining school facility grants. 

All-State Choir members Natalie Thrasher and Laci New, from Cullman High School, and Kristin Chau Le, Angelina Hughes and Cici Tran, from Cullman Middle School, along with their sponsor Sarah Jane Skinner, were also recognized during the meeting.

 

Tyler Hanes can be reached at 256-734-2131 ext. 138.