Brittany Wise | News-Gazette Remodeling is well underway at H. W. Wilkey Elementary school, one of two schools receiving a much-needed plumbing make-over during the summer break.

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Groundwork for the coming Central Office Building for Grayson County Schools is slated to begin before the end of the month.

Bids were recently accepted for the project, according to Superintendent Barry Anderson, and a Lexington-based firm, which offered the lowest of the ten submitted bids, was chosen for the construction of the new building.

The prep work on the Central Office site is just one of many projects the School Board has commissioned for the summer, as work at both H. W. Wilkey Elementary School and Grayson County High School is already in full swing.

At the recent School Board meeting on Thursday, September 13, board members voted to make some minimal changes to the projects which are essential an overhaul of the outdated plumbing systems in the two schools, and will be using ceramic tile instead of the originally-planned polymer. The group felt that this would be a better long-term decision and carries only a slightly higher cost.

In addition to physical changes to multiple buildings, and the construction of a new Central Office, Grayson County Schools are also facing some big personnel changes prior to the start of the 2013-14 school year.

Caneyville Elementary School Principal Ronnie Sarver spoke at last week’s School Board meeting to announce his retirement.

“It was a difficult decision for me to leave,” Sarver told the group, “but I think it’s the right one for me right now.”

He went on to thank the Board and the Central Office staff for their exceptional support. “I want you to know that Grayson County is a wonderful place to work,” he said, adding with a laugh that now that he is entering retirement, “I plan on wearing jeans for at least a year.”

Caneyville Elementary will be joining two other local elementary schools - Clarkson Elementary and Lawler Elementary - in starting the upcoming school year with a new principal at the helm.

In other School Board news:

- Superintendent Anderson recommended that the board approve the purchase of lighting for the high school soccer field.

He explained that they have applied for three separate grants that might cover the lighting costs, but have been turned down each time.

Through negotiations with a lighting company, however, he has been able to reduce the cost of the project from $160,000 to $118,000, and feels that the benefits which this would provide the students who use the field would be well worth the cost.

Anderson said that the field is used for a number of purposes, and recommended that action be taken promptly since “soccer season is right around the corner.”

The group voted to purchase the recommended lighting.

- Board of Education Chairwoman Carolyn Thomason announced that Superintendent Barry Anderson’s annual evaluation went very well, and he met all ten standards for evaluation.

“We’re blessed to have him,” Thomason said.