Photo by Jon Anderson
Hoover High School
Hoover High School in Hoover, Alabama
The Hoover Board of Education on Thursday morning agreed to spend $822,000 to renovate the lobby of Hoover High School.
The renovation project will reconfigure the layout of the area, add a waiting room with a restroom, a new entryway, new lobby countertops, new flooring and new finishes, said Matt Wilson, the school system’s operations director.
Some spaces currently used as a mailroom, mechanical room and break room are being repurposed as part of the reconfiguration, Wilson said.
The changes were needed to help improve the flow of people, to enhance security and to improve acoustics, he said.
When the job initially was put out for bid for contractors, the lowest bid was about $1.3 million, which was overbudget, Wilson said. School officials re-examined the project and changed the scope of the acoustics and finishing packages and sought bids a second time.
The low bidder the second time was Wyatt General Contractors, which should be able to complete the job over the summer, Wilson said.
The school board also on Monday approved spending $298,628 to redo the light dimming system in the Hoover High School theater. A renovation of the theater that was recently was completed cost $344,000 and included new seating, wall panels for acoustics and cosmetic upgrades, Wilson said.
School officials initially didn’t think the light dimming system needed to be replaced, but it turned out that it did, he said. Installation of the new dimming system may carry over into the fall, Wilson said.
