Hoover school board to spend $2.5 million to build auto repair shop for new career academy

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The Hoover Board of Education on Tuesday voted to spend $2.5 million to build an auto repair shop onto the Riverchase Career Connection Center as part of a new career academy.

The 4,000-square-foot addition will include a four-bay garage, an alignment center and two lifts, said Matt Wilson, operations director for the Hoover school system.

This will be the Riverchase Career Connection Center’s seventh academy. Others already operational are the Culinary and Hospitality Academy, Cyber Innovation Academy, Fire Science Academy, Health Science Academy, Skilled Trades Academy and Cosmetology and Barbering Academy.

Construction of the new auto repair shop should be complete by February 2025 and in plenty of time to begin the new academy in August 2025, Wilson said.

Hoover schools Superintendent Kevin Maddox said he is very excited about this addition to the Riverchase Career Connection Center.

“What an amazing gem we have here in Hoover,” Maddox said. “It is a model for the state of Alabama and the nation. When we have opportunities to add and expand another academy there, it means more opportunities for students.”

Hoover plans to use $1,225,000 the school system received from a grant from the lieutenant governor’s office last year to help build the auto repair shop, Maddox said.

The total price of $2,524,000 is $239,000 less than the construction estimate that had been given by the school system’s architectural firm, he said. Coston General Contractors was lowest responsible bidder of six companies that bid on the job, he said.

The Hoover school board also on Tuesday:

  • Hired Lathan Associates Architects to design a locker room renovation at Spain Park High School. The school system’s proposed five-year capital plan anticipates that renovation work will cost $1.78 million.
  • Agreed to buy about $280,000 worth of food service equipment from Birmingham Restaurant Supply.
  • Honored school board member Craig Kelley for his 10 years of service on the school board. Kelley’s second five-year term ends at the end of this month.
  • Accepted $15,000 from state Rep. David Faulkner’s discretionary fund, including $5,000 for the Hoover Board of Education, $5,000 for the Hoover City Schools Foundation and $5,000 specifically for Shades Mountain Elementary School.
  • Elected Kermit Kendrick for a second one-year term as president of the school board and Alan Paquette for a second one-year term as vice president.
  • Recognized Lucille Ziegler, a teacher’s aide at Berry Middle School, for being named a 2024 Substitute Educator of the Year in the paraeducator category by Kelly Educational Services. She was one of four national winners out of more than 300 nominees and won a $5,000 prize as part of the award. Ziegler also won $1,500 for the nonprofit of her choice and selected Berry Middle School to receive the money.
  • Recognized Green Valley Elementary fourth grade teacher Amanda Bowden for being named the University of Montevallo National Alumni Association’s Outstanding Alumnus in elementary education for 2024.
  • Recognized Hoover High School senior Sara Hancock for being named the DECA President of the Year among all DECA presidents in 50 states and nine countries.
  • Recognized the Hoover High School varsity Buccanettes dance team for winning second place in the spirit showdown category at the Dance Team Union national championship competition in Orlando in February
  • Recognized Hoover High School for being named a U.S. Department of Education Green Ribbon School for the school’s positive impact on the environment and the health of its students and staff.
  • Recognized last week as School Nurses Appreciation Week and this month as Children’s Mental Health Awareness Month.
  • Heard a “demand” from a co-chairman with the Birmingham chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America that the school board trust the decisions of school system librarians regarding what books should be available in public school libraries and online databases. The representative asked why books about queer sexuality have been banned when books about heterosexuality are available and criticized attempts to ban books about lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, asexual or other gender identities.