By Bill Grubb

ROGERSVILLE — Several members of the Hawkins County Budget Committee expressed their concern Monday over the way the county school board selected capital improvement projects.
    A roof repair project at Surgoinsville Middle School that did not make the list was the focal point of concern.
    Earlier this year the school board adopted a list of capital projects, which will require using reserve funds. Based on recommendations from architect Don Solt, the board prioritized a list of roofing projects, as well as others to be funded from the $1 million to be taken from the system’s reserve account.
     Among the approved projects were new roofs at Carter’s Valley and McPheeter’s Bend elementary schools estimated at $260,000; roofs at Surgoinsville Elementary and Rogersville Middle estimated at $250,000; new outside doors at Cherokee and Volunteer high schools for $40,000; a new maintenance shed in Surgoinsville for $25,000; repairing the gym ceiling at Saint Clair Elementary for $30,000; fencing around the dumpsters and football field at Rogersville Middle for $20,000; carpeting in the central office for $5,000; painting the water tank at Volunteer for $7,153; and new fencing at Cherokee for $10,000.
    Refurbishing the gym floors at both main high schools will cost $13,998 each.
    Jim Hageman, assistant director for the school system, told budget committee members the price tag for the Surgoinsville Middle School roof was estimated at $550,000. 
    “The board could have spent every dime they had on roofs and still not had enough to do all the work,” Hageman said.
    Commissioner Virgil Mallett, who discussed his concern with the Surgoinsville Middle School roof with Director of Schools Charlotte Britton at the October commission meeting, again repeated his concern allowing leaks will ultimately cause more expensive repairs.
    “If those roofs are no good it will cause problems in other places,” Mallett said.
    Committee Chairman Claude Parrott said he questioned the priorities the board assigned to projects when they created the priory list.
    “I looked at the list of their proposed capital improvements, and it’s kind of hard for me to understand it.  If my roof is leaking in the living room why go out to a shed somewhere and put a roof on it.  There’s a lot of things that the roof should have come first,” Parrott said.
   Mallett asked Hageman if some additional funding for the project could be available from the approximately $39 million bond issue funding several school construction projects.
    “We did have some of the bids come in below estimates but we still don’t know what all we will run into so I don’t really know if we will have any money or not,” Hageman replied.  
    Mallett asked Hageman to inform school board members “the Budget Committee is very concerned about the roofs at these schools being repaired.”