County officials dedicate OCSB admin building

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By COLLEEN MCCARTHY
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The Oktibbeha County School District will hold a ribbon cutting for the new education building at 106 Main St. today at 10 a.m.
After a long journey, the county school district moved into the building in August.
The former education building, located at Douglas L. Conner Drive, was severely damaged during Hurricane Katrina in 2005. The damage to the building’s roof and exterior created mold and mildew conditions inside that caused health issues for some district employees. While the construction on the new building began, the superintendent’s office moved to a rented space next to the Dirt Cheap store on Louisville Street.
The building was funded by a $1.7 million Planning and Development District grant and $320,000 from the county.
The building was completed during the summer, but Architect Roger Pryor drafted a list of 306 cosmetic and interior-specific problems with individual rooms, 21 general observations and 60 mechanical and electrical notes that had to be addressed before the school district could move in. Within a few weeks, the majority of the problems had been fixed by the project’s contractors, Anco Construction, Inc.
“The contractors came back to correct the deficiencies that we discussed, and overall I’m happy with how the building turned out,” Oktibbeha County Board of Supervisors President Marvell Howard said. “It’s an asset to the corner there and it’s been functional for the county school district. I feel confident that the building will continue to be functional for years to come.”
Mayor Parker Wiseman, members of the board of aldermen, the board of supervisors and the Greater Starkville Development Partnership are expected to attend today’s ceremony.