The Lauderdale County School District is planning to fix a drainage problem at Northeast Lauderdale High School. 

Principal Sammy Sullivan said that last year, the school had flooding issues between the east side of the school and the baseball field, causing the road to be washed out. Sullivan said once a road becomes washed out, cars and school buses can’t drive on it.

“It’s against the law to drive on a washed out part of the road,” Sullivan said.

Sullivan said there haven’t been any flooding problems this year, but wants to deal with the issue before it gets worse.

 Sullivan said the flooding is due to a culvert that hasn’t been fixed and covered drains. The improvements involve getting the culverts and drains corrected to prevent any flooding in the future. 

A cost estimate for the project, which was approved by the school board on Thursday, has not been laid out, but Sullivan said the school plans to get help from Lauderdale County supervisors. 

Other matters

In other matters, the board approved a contract with Entegrity, a company that specializes in energy conservation and renewable energy projects. 

The project will include adding solar panels, LED lights and upgrading insulation at some schools. 

Money for installing the panels could come from a $200,000 grant from the Gulf Coast Community Foundation. Installing the panels is estimated to cost $450,000,  including the grant.

The solar panel system will allow school officials to monitor how much energy is being used via a dashboard at the school.

The project will also involve adding LED lights to classrooms, which would help the district to save money while making the classrooms brighter. 

Improving security by putting up lights around schools and installing ID scanners are also part of the improvements. Other upgrades include replacing HVAC systems and windows and dropping ceilings at various campuses. 

Superintendent John-Mark Cain said money saved annually would help pay for the project. Installing LED lights would save the district $189,000 a year and solar panels would save the district $31,000 a year, he said. 

The cost for the project, which will be financed over 20 years, is $14 million including interest. The upgrades are expected to begin in six to eight weeks.