Autauga County schools approve $9.6 million buildings contract, upgrades

Autauga County schools moved a nearly $9.6 million buildings contract and a slate of summer upgrades forward, setting up changes that will be felt first in Billingsley, Marbury, Prattville and at the district maintenance facility. The work is aimed at better storage, athletic support and long-standing compliance needs, while also covering the staffing and infrastructure fixes parents are most likely to notice when school starts back.

The contract went to Matthes Parker LLC for metal buildings at multiple sites. The project includes five buildings measuring about 2,370, 2,570, 3,865, 6,310 and 7,870 square feet, a spread that suggests the district is trying to solve several different needs at once rather than fund a single new facility. Superintendent Lyman Woodfin said the projects addressed immediate priorities while the system continues to evaluate longer-term construction and renovation needs. He described the work as something the district has needed for years.

Alongside the building package, the board approved backflow device installations at multiple facilities and districtwide network infrastructure upgrades, both of which are likely to affect daily operations before they change the look of any campus. The board also signed off on summer staffing for special education and instructional programs, extra support for the New Teacher Academy and KinderQuest initiative, and service agreements for interpreting and physical therapy. Those decisions point to the classroom and service side of the budget, where students with disabilities and families needing language access often feel staffing gaps first.

The district also discussed how to handle its debt and future borrowing power. Leaders said about $5.3 million in Advanced Technology and Facilities funds could be used to pay down bond debt, including the remaining balance on the 2015 bond, which had about $3 million left, and part of the 2018 bond, which had roughly $5.2 million remaining. Even if that debt is cleared, finance officials said the district would still be capped at about $30 million in bonding capacity because of millage limits, a reminder that future school construction will remain constrained unless new revenue or partnerships appear.

Autauga County Schools says it serves nearly 9,000 students across 14 campuses in Autaugaville, Billingsley, Pine Level, Marbury and Prattville. The latest approvals show the district spending on facilities it already has while trying to protect the staffing and infrastructure that keep those campuses running day to day.