The Baldwin County school board received a detailed rundown of capital improvement projects underway across the district at its December meeting, with the facilities and maintenance department outlining millions of dollars in work spanning nearly every corner of the county’s school system.
Among the largest projects are re-roofing efforts at three of the county’s high schools. Baldwin County High School’s project, which involves installing a new standing seam metal roof over the existing structure, carries a price tag of $1.1 million. Fairhope High School’s similar re-roofing project comes in at $1 million, while Robertsdale High School’s version is budgeted at $929,311. All three mirror earlier re-roofing work already completed at Daphne and Foley high schools.
Smaller but still significant projects are scattered throughout the district. Perdido School and Pine Grove Elementary are getting new bleachers for a combined $33,250. The North and South Baldwin Centers for Technology are each receiving welding department upgrades, including new fume collectors and ductwork, along with new exhaust fans and exterior painting, at a cost of roughly $93,700 and $80,600 respectively.
Elberta Middle School is addressing a more urgent need: cafeteria windows that inspectors found showed excessive rust and rot. That project, along with a restroom renovation and new canopy at the school, totals more than $76,000 combined. Elsanor Elementary is in line for the district’s most expensive single project on the list, a $1.3 million cafeteria addition that will include new kitchen equipment and a stage.
Drainage and structural work is also underway at several campuses. Fairhope Elementary is adding a retention wall on a slope near its playground for $95,000, while Fairhope Middle School is investing $185,427 in detention ponds and piping to better manage stormwater on site. Foley Elementary is undergoing a broader renovation package, including new flooring, paint, intercoms, fire alarms, a new canopy, and a resurfaced gymnasium floor, totaling nearly $97,600 combined.
Restroom renovations are planned at both Foley High School and Foley Intermediate School, while Gulf Shores Elementary is replacing roofing on three buildings for $455,000. Gulf Shores Middle School and Central Baldwin Middle School are both getting new bleachers, with Gulf Shores also adding a new gymnasium floor. In Robertsdale, the district is converting the old cafeteria at the C.F. Taylor Building into a new Culinary Arts Academy, complete with updated flooring, windows, and other renovations.
Taken together, the projects reflect a district managing an aging portfolio of buildings across a rapidly growing county, with maintenance officials working to balance urgent repairs against longer-term facility investments that will serve students for years to come.