Pike County Schools Superintendent Mark Bazzell, Director of Finance and Operations Tom Hicks and representatives from Russell Construction, PH&J Architects and the Building Commission recently took a look at Pike County Elementary School.

"The goal was to develop a punch list of items that needed to be addressed," Hicks said.

During the walk-through, the group looked for the "little things" like broken or missing tiles and walls or windows in need of paint.

"We saw that the (rubber baseboard) needed to be reglued, tiles needed to be replaced and some of the floors needed cleaning," he said.

Three PCES buildings underwent renovations before school started this fall. Buildings 100, 200 and 600 received new wall treatments, tile and carpet. Building 600 is still unoccupied because the contractor needs to reconnect the fire alarm and the emergency exit lighting, which were disconnected when the new walls were put up.

Contractors will retile the lunchroom over the Christmas holidays. Hicks also said that some of the old windows around campus needed to be reglazed and repainted.

PCES Principal Donella Carter is pleased with the school's renovations so far.

"The new floors and walls look really good," she said. "They're something we can be proud of. Something our students and our community can be proud of."

Wallboard was put up over the cement-block walls and purple and white tiles were laid in every building on campus.

Not only do the new floors and walls give the school a clean, updated look, they also provide for a safer learning environment.

"There is no more asbestos tile on this campus," Hicks said. "They used to use tile with asbestos in it and asbestos adhesive, but that has all been replaced."

The lights and light fixtures are next on the list. Siemans has already started replacing light fixtures at Goshen Elementary School and PCES will soon see improvements as well.

In some cases, whole fixtures will be replaced and in others the lights will be replaced. Hicks said the replacements will make PCES brighter and more energy efficient.