By Kathy Feist/Max Goodwin
“One of the biggest things at Hickman Mills is construction,” reports Marissa Cleaver Wamble, Director of Public Information for the school district. “Almost every building is in the middle of upgrades.”
The $30 million bond issue recently passed will fund replacements, renovations and repairs for HVACs, roofs, parking lots, secure entries, and restrooms, playgrounds and gyms.
Two completed projects for the upcoming year are new asphalt and sidewalk improvements at Compass Elementary, Dobbs Elementary, Smith-Hale Middle School Ruskin and turf replacement for Ruskin High School.
Ruskin Principal Torrence Allen said safety concerns had arisen with the previous field which was installed in 2008, before Ruskin and Hickman Mills High Schools merged. The old field still had ‘Cougars’ written in the orange of Hickman Mills on it. Many of the students attending Ruskin today don’t remember Hickman Mills High School, so it was also time for Ruskin to have just the blue and yellow of the Ruskin Golden Eagles detailing the field, both Principal Allen and Ruskin head coach William Perkins said.