Old Administration Building Demolished
By John Earp
The Jal School District presently has had several construction projects ongoing this school year, including the renovation of the Jal High School auditorium, the stadium seating and new concession stand and visitors’ locker room, a new parking lot across from the softball field, the two-story elementary school addition, as well as the demolition of the old administration building. Perhaps the most urgent project is the renovation of the auditorium, which needs to be completed in time for graduation on May 19th. Superintendent Brian Snider says that Lasco Construction has been diligently working seven days a week on the auditorium with a full crew. Snider says he is not sure if the project will be completed in time for graduation, “but they are working on it.” Snider says the auditorium project at this point lacks the seating being installed, drywalling and painting and the back rigging on the stage.
The old administration building has been demolished this week by Lasco. As soon as the lot is cleared, the junior high addition, which will include a new testing center, will occupy the space where the old administration building as well as the old parking lot between the junior high and the old administration.
Ramirez and Sons has almost completed a brand-new parking lot across from the softball field, on the rough gravel lot that formerly had been used for parking. All that remains on that project is the striping and the lighting, but people have already been making use of the parking lot during softball games.
The district also recently received shipment of two modular duplexes, which have been placed on land just north of the softball field, on land that was part of the old elementary school grounds. These duplexes, which will be teacherages (houses rented to teachers by the district) are the first houses to be placed on the old elementary property, after several years and many attempts at making the place more than just a sandlot. Snider says the district is looking at possibly installing some more duplexes in the future. The city owns the rest of the old elementary school grounds, and has installed utilities and streets, curbs, and gutters crisscrossing the old elementary school property.
The district plans to have the new stands built in Panther Stadium, as well as the new concession area and scoreboard at the south end of the field, before the opening of football season. Snider says that project is moving along well.
The softball field received new dugouts and improvements on the locker rooms earlier this school year. The elementary addition will soon have steel being erected on it. Snider is hoping the elementary addition will be completed by next January, but it is difficult to be sure with big construction projects, of course.
The architectural firm that the district has been working with is Parkhill, which is based out of Midland and Lubbock, TX. Snider says he feels like Parkhill has done a top-notch job on designing the architecture for the various construction projects the district has undertaken
