Overton Schools Enter Building Program Agreement

Overton County Schools moving forward with a building program agreement meant to tackle four major projects with the same architectural firm.

Director of Schools Donnie Holman said the firm will construct new classrooms to alleviate overcrowding at Allons Elementary School, Hilham Elementary School, and Rickman Elementary School. He said they will also tackle a major cafeteria renovation at Livingston Academy. Holman said the projects have been needed for years and he is excited to be getting this plan in place.

“We’ve done a needs assessment for the whole district,” Holman said. “And there were minor things, and then, of course, the major things being the classrooms and then the major renovation at the high school, and we’ve taken some of this time here before to knock out and to alleviate many of the minor things.”

Holman said the district will dip into funds that they have saved over the years for these kinds of projects and the remaining cost will be borrowed. He said he and the school board have planned to take on these projects using a phased approach to keep the work from being scattered and disorganized.

“I think it would be better if we just did a small amount at a time, as opposed to trying to do too much at one time,” Holman said. “We are using one architect firm and, of course, the architects, we will be using their expertise since they have dealt with this type of thing much more than we have.”

He said the district has seen significant growth in recent years, specifically in the outlying areas of the county where these three elementary schools are located.

“Rickman is really growing and Hilham is,” Holman said. “And the enrollment at Allons is going up as well and we’ve noticed that they have been for the past several years and we anticipate that to increase. We’re trying to be proactive and looking ahead to try to prevent problems with overcrowding for years to come.”

He said that by consolidating the projects under one firm, he hopes to get the projects taken care of smoothly, but still quickly.