Justice presents $13M in state funds for Ripley Middle School renovations
Ripley Middle School Principal John Melhorn (left) smiles as Ripley Middle School students Chance Blackburn (second from left), Jacob Templin (third from left), Gabriel Price (fourth from left), Kassidy Wilson (fifth from left) and Hannah Shamblin (sixth from left) hold up a check for $13,547,398. The check was presented by Gov. Jim Justice (center right) to Jackson County Schools Superintendent William Hosaflook (right) for renovations to Ripley Middle School. (Photo by Michelle Dillon)
Gov. Jim Justice talks to Ripley Middle School students on Wednesday about the $13,547,398 in School Building Authority funds their school received for renovations. (Photo by Michelle Dillon)
Ripley Middle School Principal John Melhorn (left) smiles as Ripley Middle School students Chance Blackburn (second from left), Jacob Templin (third from left), Gabriel Price (fourth from left), Kassidy Wilson (fifth from left) and Hannah Shamblin (sixth from left) hold up a check for $13,547,398. The check was presented by Gov. Jim Justice (center right) to Jackson County Schools Superintendent William Hosaflook (right) for renovations to Ripley Middle School. (Photo by Michelle Dillon)
Gov. Jim Justice talks to Ripley Middle School students on Wednesday about the $13,547,398 in School Building Authority funds their school received for renovations. (Photo by Michelle Dillon)
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RIPLEY -- A local school in Jackson County has received approximately $13 million dollars for much-needed renovations.
Gov. Jim Justice visited Ripley Middle School Wednesday morning and presented Jackson County Schools with $13,547,398 in School Building Authority funds.
The Ripley Middle School gym was full of students, teachers and staff Wednesday morning, waiting to hear what Justice had to announce.
SBA Executive Director Andy Neptune, SBA Director of Architerical Services Dana Womack, State Delegate Steve Westfall, Jackson County Board of Education Member Bead Isner, Jackson County Schools Assistant SuperIntendent for Non-Instructional Services Mike Erwin, Jackson County Schools Director of Secondary Schools Tim Brown, Ripley Middle School Principal Jon Melhorn, Ripley Middle School Assistant Principal Luke Parsons and Ripley Middle School Assistant Principal Joanna McKown were also at Ripley Middle School for the announcement.
"We have something that you and all of (the teachers, principals and staff) and all this county and this great great great school deserve. Not long ago we did something that was the biggest thing that's been done in the state of West Virginia in a decade and that was we came up with $111 million that went to our School Building Authority," Justice said.
The $111 million is for a lot of different schools for renovations and building new schools, Justice said.
Justice told everyone in attendance he had a gift for them.
"My present to you, remember I said we have $111 million, of that $111 million, here's my check to Jackson County Schools, to this school, to this school right here, for $13,547,398," Justice said.
He said the money would make Ripley Middle School the greatest of the great and that he wanted everyone to know that they are a big part of that.
Justice acknowledged that West Virginia has work to do when it comes to schools.
"There's no question if we want to make things better and better for your learning that one of the big, big, big components to your learning is the environment that you're in," Justice said.
Jackson County Schools Superintendent William Hosaflook said the SBA funds will be used for building a new Ripley Middle School gym.
The new gym will have a regulation size court. Currently, to fit all students in the gym some have to sit on the floor. The new gym will have bleachers on both sides, Hosaflook said,
Eighth graders have to walk through the gym to get to some classrooms. Ripley Middle School will also use the funds to build a new hallway that will go from the eighth grade wing all the way through the school and a new front entrance with a secure vestibule, according to Hosaflook.
"It just makes the learning environment much more conducive," Hosaflook said
The renovations to Ripley Middle School will also make the flow of the school better and will provide a better educational environment for students, Hosaflook said.
Jackson County Schools will be advertising for bids for the project in the next couple of weeks. The timeline for the renovations is roughly two years because the liquidation date for the grant funds is in two years, Hosaflook said.
In addition to the SBA funds, Jackson County Schools will be using $6 million they saved for the comprehensive facilities plan for the renovations, according to Hosaflook.
This funding, which is the largest annual SBA award issued by the SBA since 2011, will be used by school districts to build 10 new schools and perform major renovations on thirteen existing schools, a press release said.
Wood County Schools, Wyoming County Schools, Fayette County Schools, Taylor County Schools and Marshall County Schools all received funds to build new schools.
Jackson County Schools, Mason County Schools, Calhoun County Schools, Gilmer County Schools, Tucker County Schools, Harrison County Schools, Grant County Schools, Greenbrier County Schools, Logan County Schools, Randolph County Schools, Morgan County Schools, Hancock County Schools and Barbour County Schools all received funds to renovate existing schools.
Jackson County Schools received the largest amount of money of the school districts that received funds for school renovations. The district that received the next highest amount for school renovations was Greenbrier County Schools with $6,707,058, according to information in the release.
Ripley Middle School Principal Jon Melhorn said he is excited for the work that will be done at the school.
"(I am) excited not just for the school but for the whole community," Melhorn said.
Michelle Dillon can be reached at mdillon@newsandsentinel.com