Sumner school board OKs funding to repair football stadiums
Board of Education moves $15.5 million from reserve funds to pay for stadium renovations at four schools.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WSMV) - The Sumner County Board of Education approved moving $15.5 million from reserves to help pay for stadium renovations after the collapse of the visitors’ bleachers at Beech High School.
The board moved the money to help pay for temporary bleachers at schools and replace the stadium at Beech High School.
After the collapse at Beech High, the school system had every football stadium inspected. Engineers deemed the home stands at Beech High, a section of the home stands at Portland High, a section of the home stands at White House High and the visitors’ bleachers at Hendersonville High as unsound.
“Our goal is to have all the bleachers restored by next year,” Director of Schools Dr. Scott Langford told the board during the director’s report. “The $15.5 million is to cover the first wave of stadium renovations and facility upgrades.”
Langford said the principals and athletic directors at all high schools except Liberty Creek, which opened last year, to discuss their facilities need to create a wish list going forward. Items on the wish list are not part of the funding approved on Tuesday night.
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The school board also approved on first reading a policy that called for regular inspection of bleachers and stadiums at least once annually. Masonry/concrete bleachers will be inspected twice, once before March 1 and again before July 1. All of the bleachers deemed unsafe were concrete. All masonry building structures, such as dugouts, bathrooms and concession stands, will be inspected prior to each athletic season.
All steel/aluminum bleachers will also be inspected annually going forward to ensure they meet manufacture guidelines for maintenance and structural integrity.
The board approved a new policy that added that threats of school-related mass violence now falls under the zero-tolerance offenses. The policy change was needed after a change in state law.
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