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July 24, 2008

Phase II begins at Harmony School

By Trent Moore

trentm@cullmantimes.com

The second phase of construction at Harmony School has finally begun.

Cullman County Schools Superintendent Hank Allen gathered Thursday morning at the school with representatives from Craft & Associates and Goodwyn, Mills and Cawood — the architect and contractor for the project, respectively — to further discuss the plans in detail, as well as have a ground-breaking ceremony.

“We’re having our pre-construction meeting,” Allen said. “Figuring out exactly who’s doing what and how it’s all going to get done.”

The school, which is less than five years old, suffers from the fact that it was originally built too small, due to budget restraints at the time.

The Phase II expansion should finally get the school up to the size it was originally intended to be, with 25 usable classrooms and a larger gymnasium.

The extra classrooms are greatly needed, as the student body has grown consistently since the school opened.

Harmony enrolled approximately 270 students last year, and more are expected for 2008-2009.

Overall, the Phase II expansion plan includes the construction of twelve new classrooms, connecting the currently detached gym to the school facilities, increasing the seating in the gym from 400 seats to 600 seats, building dressing rooms near the gymnasium for athletics and adding more storage space.

Due to the tight conditions at the school, students have been attending classes in portable trailers and cramped classrooms for more than a year.

The school is expected to utilize five portable trailers for classroom space in the 2008-2009 school year.

The expansion will cost approximately $2.5 million, and is on schedule to be completed before the start of the 2009-2010 school year.

The financial catalyst for completing Harmony School came from a recently awarded government bond issuance of $11.1 million. Expansions to the Holly Pond Middle School are also underway thanks to the bond issuance, and the school board is considering other projects, as well.

Harmony school board representative Steve Freeman said he was glad to see the work begin.

“I’m thankful we’re finally getting it done,” he said. “It’s going to be a positive impact for the kids.”

Harmony School Principal Mike Rodgers was out of town and unavailable for comment.

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