The North Little Rock School Board on Thursday authorized up to $5.5 million in construction projects throughout the district, $1 million for equipment and furniture, and $1.4 million for student computer purchases.
The board approved the building and technology plans at a meeting that started with a presentation by North Little Rock Middle School's 4-H Club, which has raised a flock of Arkansas Livestock Show award-winning chickens this school year.
The school construction projects, which must now be designed and put out for bids, include several at the middle school, which was one of only two schools that was not rebuilt or extensively renovated in the district's recent systemwide capital-improvement program.
The largest of the new projects is the repaving of the middle-school parking lot at an estimated cost of $1.2 million. Other projects include 115,000 square feet of new flooring in the building, the renovation of all restrooms, new paint in classrooms and an update to the heating and air conditioning controls. There is also $500,000 earmarked for the middle-school gym's floor.
Elsewhere, the planned projects include $500,000 for re-roofing the original, largely vacant Ole Main High School building to preserve it for future use. Hallway panels to prevent damage to the walls in the new part of the high school are estimated to cost $236,000, and panels in the restrooms are projected to cost about $75,000.
Some of the other projects include sidewalk work at Seventh Street Elementary and installing an awning and sidewalk at Glenview Elementary.
Taggart Architects has been hired for the projects. Baldwin & Shell Construction Co. will be the project manager, according to contracts approved by the board Thursday.
Plans for equipment and furniture purchases include a new bell and intercom system, classroom furniture and security cameras at the middle school; security cameras at the high school; new classroom furniture for North Little Rock Academy; and the purchase of playground equipment and school signs.
The district will spend about $1.4 million on more than 4,000 Chromebook computers and related equipment that will complete the district's efforts to have a computer device for every student. The purchases also will include some Apple computer products for music and art instruction in the high school.
Additionally, the district is upgrading its infrastructure to support the use of computers at a cost of up to $1.125 million a year through 2020-21, some of which should be offset by receipt of money from the national E-rate program that assists schools and libraries in acquiring affordable Internet and other telecommunications services.
Metro on 01/19/2018