Vina High School receives state funding for rebuilding
After months of meetings, phone calls and voting sessions, a decision has been made regarding the reconstruction of Vina High School’s science lab and band hall. March 27 the Education Budget House Bill 175 was passed, which included a line item that awarded VHS with $750,000 for the reconstruction of this academic building.
The science lab and band hall were damaged during a tornado Dec. 18, 2016, along with the baseball field and the gymnasium. New dugouts, fencing and a new roof on the gymnasium were part of the repairs to the baseball field and gymnasium, but there was a dispute with risk management regarding the science lab and band hall, according to Superintendent Greg Hamilton.
“This was the building I taught classes in for many of the early years of my career and walked in almost daily for 20 years. There was never any question in my opinion or the opinion of the engineer representing the FCBOE that the building was severely damaged beyond repair. I knew without question that the foundation was not cracked all over the bottom floor before the tornado as it is now,” Hamilton said.
After many disagreements with risk management, Hamilton said he decided to seek other avenues for funding. He took many trips to Montgomery and made many phone calls and portfolios in the process of getting this line item added to HB 175. Sen. Larry Stutts, Rep. Johnny Mack Morrow and Rep. Bill Poole were all integral in getting this passed through the House, Senate and Conference Committee, according to Hamilton.
“(Stutts) was instrumental in securing additional funding after it passed from the House to the Senate as well as protecting it when it went to Committee serving as a conferee,” Hamilton said.
When the bill first went through the House, $300,000 was secured for the Vina line item. Poole allowed Hamilton to address the House Ways and Means Committee, and Morrow stood by his side.
“The line item for Vina High School was a top priority of mine this session,” Morrow said. “The Vina High School students not having a science/band room following the tornado was not acceptable to me.”
In the Senate, the line item amount went from $300,000 to $750,000. After it passed both the House and the Senate, the bill went to the Conference Committee, where it was passed.
“It has been a long process, but I would do it again without hesitation for any school in this county,” Hamilton said. “It was the right thing to do. The students of Franklin County deserve a safe learning environment.”
Now HB 175 will be signed by Gov. Kay Ivey as the last step in the process. VHS is scheduled to receive the money Oct. 1.
