District Capital Plan Lists
Finley’s Needs
A succession of Huntington School Boards has given the upkeep of the district’s facilities high priority. The seven current trustees are no different. Repairing and renovating the eight school buildings is the reason the capital reserve fund exists.
J. Taylor Finley Junior High School on Greenlawn opened in September 1965. It joined Robert K. Toaz and Robert L. Simpson Junior High Schools in serving the district, which at the time was growing in enrollment, eventually reaching a peak of nearly 10,000 students.
Today, Toaz and Simpson have long since closed their doors and Finley is a middle school, no longer housing freshmen. It currently enrolls about 675 seventh and eighth graders. The building is nearly 50 years old and while the district has been diligent in maintaining the structure, additional work will need to be performed to keep it in good working order for decades to come.
The district updates its five-year capital plan annually, affixing an estimated price tag to each project. The work at Finley is identified in the most recent “facility estimated expenses form,” a state-required document which was finalized earlier this fall.
District voters previously approved spending $15,000 to install building access controls at Finley. Due to favorable pricing, the job was completed for $10,000. Three other projects are currently in the works, including replacement of the school’s original clock ($170,000) and public address ($50,000) systems and installation of a new electronic security system ($22,000).
Several additional needs have been identified at Finley and are included in the district’s five-year capital plan. The work includes reconstruction of the school’s two locker rooms, ($850,000), replacement of the long canopy in front of the school ($500,000), replacement of ceiling tiles throughout the building ($1 million), replacement of asbestos floor tiles ($500,000), renovation of the school’s roadway and parking lot ($550,000), restoration of the athletic fields ($500,000), replacement of lighting in the auditorium/large group instruction room and shops ($150,000), mortar joint repair ($39,000), replacement of Finley’s concrete landings ($45,000), pull-up door replacement ($26,000) and accessibility improvements related to the Americans with Disabilities Act ($1.85 million).
Huntington has been making improvements to each of its buildings for many years, utilizing existing budget monies through a capital reserve fund authorized by voters. This practice has helped eliminate the need for borrowing and for subsequent interest expenses.