TCSS Approves COVID Leave; Funding For Turf, Hillcrest Gym & More

Tuscaloosa AL

14 September, 2021

11:53 AM

Description

TUSCALOOSA, AL — The Tuscaloosa County Board of Education unanimously approved additional COVID-19 sick leave for its employees during its regular meeting Monday night, in addition to stamping off on a long list of highly-anticipated capital projects. Click here to subscribe to our free Tuscaloosa Daily newsletter and breaking news alerts As Patch reported prior to the meeting, all TCSS employees who test positive for COVID-19 will now have up to 10 additional days of paid leave to isolate, quarantine and recover. This applies to both vaccinated and unvaccinated employees. The new COVID-19 leave will be retroactive from Aug. 5 - Oct. 31, Superintendent Keri Johnson and the Board of Education will then review pandemic data prior to that date to determine whether or not to extend the leave past that time. In addition to awarding employees much-needed sick leave, the school board also approved its list of highly-anticipated capital projects for Fiscal Year 2022 Here's a breakdown of the projects approvedProjects covered under 2017 Bond Refinancing Brookwood High School football stadium: $6.4 millionTuscaloosa County High School fire alarm system: $450,000Projects covered under Public School and College Authority (PSCA) funding Taylorville Primary School activity building: $1.9 millionCTE addition for Hillcrest High School: $6 millionHillcrest High turf football surface: $1.4 millionAddition to Northside Middle School: $2 millionNorthside High School baseball fields: $280,000Northside High turf football surface: $1.4 millionAddition to Vance Elementary: $5 millionAddition and renovations to Myrtlewood Elementary: $4.2 millionSipsey Valley High turf football surface: $1.4 millionProjects covered by the American Rescue Plan Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund Brookwood High School football fieldhouse: $3.05 millionHillcrest High School gymnasium: $7 millionHillcrest High cafeteria: $1 millionNorthside High School career technical : $4 millionNorthside High fieldhouse: $1 million Northside Middle School cafeteria: $1 millionSipsey Valley Career Tech: $659,453New windows: $600,000 per school. (Crestmost, Collins-Riverside, Engelwood, Faucett-Vestavia, Matthews and Westwood). Projects covered by TCSS Advancement Technology Fund Various projects requested by each school, which include painting, bathroom remodeling, pressure washing, design work, and other needs, totaling $3.93 million. Buses and service vehicles approved Two new school buses: $174, 569Two new service trucks for transportation: $100,000Two new service maintenance trucks: $90,000Have a news tip or suggestion on how I can improve Tuscaloosa Patch? Maybe you're interested in having your business become one of our latest sponsors? Email all inquiries to me at [email protected].