County Highway Department Lends a Helping Hand for JCHS Paving

The Jefferson County school board recently put out a bid to local paving contractors for the opportunity of assisting in a developing project at the high school. Plans were recently discussed in hopes of paving the parking lot at the high school, along with several side roads around the school itself. While a bid was reached with a private company, the estimated cost of the project would remain high.

However, with help from the local Jefferson County Highway Department, led by Charles Tipton, the cost of the project was significantly slashed. Tipton explained that the highway department would only have to charge the school board for materials rather than actual labor and profit like a private company would. With this deal in place, the highway department was able to pave the road parking lot behind the school, along with patches on the backside of the stadium.

Representative Michael Phagan explained that the school board was grateful for the work and effort of the highway department. The Jefferson County school board always had the paving as high priority within their budget, but were waiting to see the selection of bids and which projects would be the most realistically feasible. The savings from this project can be utilized to fund some of a long capital projects needs list for the school system. Phagan stated that the school board will most likely pass a resolution that will return some $368,000 to the County Commission for their own future projects.