Mountain Brook Schools hope to begin major facility upgrades this summer

A major series of construction projects to upgrade all six city schools in Mountain Brook over the next three years may begin in just a few months, said MBS Superintendent Dicky Barlow.

“We hope to start construction as soon as school is out at all six of our sites,” Barlow said in his report to the Mountain Brook City Council at its regular meeting for Monday, Jan. 25.

School officials are eagerly looking forward to the results of the upgrades, Barlow said.

“Over the next three years, we have substantial projects, and I think y’all are going to be really proud of the way our schools look,” he told council members.

The renovated schools “are going to blend really well with the surrounding community and be something to be proud of,” he said.

The changes to the aging school facilities are very welcome, Barlow said.

“We’ve always been proud of what goes on inside the schools, and we’ve always said instruction is more important than the buildings, which is 100% true, but I think we are going to be proud of our buildings, too, when we get through with this long, drawn-out construction project,” he said.

MBS officials are still working on putting together their bond issue. “It looks like we will try to borrow around $75 million,” Barlow told the council. “Rates are lower than they've ever been, and so we are excited about that.”

The upgrades at Mountain Brook Junior High School, Mountain Brook High School and Brookwood Forest Elementary are considered to be the three major projects because they involve substantial new construction, Barlow said.

There will also be some construction at Crestline Elementary School, with the addition of a new gymnasium, he said.

Cherokee Bend Elementary School and Mountain Brook Elementary School will also see improvements.

The aging bathrooms, most of which are more than 50 years old, will be redone at all of the schools, Barlow said.

“Bathrooms will have to be done during summer only, so we are going to have to break up those projects … over a three-year period,” he said.

Brasfield & Gorrie, a large construction firm based in Birmingham, is helping MBS manage the projects, including the bid process, which will begin soon.

“At the junior high, the bid process takes place next week,” Barlow said. “Then we will wait a couple of weeks, and then the bid process will take place at the high school. Then we will wait two to three weeks, and there will be a bid process for Brookwood Forest.”

Barlow told the council members that, the next time they meet, he can show them some construction drawings, at least for the junior high and high school.

He said that MBS plans to go to the Mountain Brook Planning Commission for project approval after the completion of the bond issue and the drawings.

For more information about the school upgrades, read our preview of city projects planned for 2021 from the January issue of Village Living.