Finley’s Capital Needs Listed in
New Plan
J. Taylor Finley Middle School is nearing its 50th anniversary. Huntington School Board members hope the building continues to serve district students for decades to come. The district’s most recent capital plan outlines a series of projects meant to keep the facility in top-notch condition.
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.
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. While the building is nearing the half-century mark in age, it has been kept in fine working order.
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 in November.
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. Four other projects have also been designed, including replacement of the school’s original clock ($170,000) and public address ($50,000) systems, installation of a new electronic security system ($22,000) and reconstruction of the school’s two locker rooms ($850,000).
Possible future projects include roadway and parking lot reconstruction ($550,000),
replacement of ceiling tiles throughout the building ($1 million), replacement of lighting in the auditorium/large group instruction room and shops ($150,000), pull-up door replacement ($26,000), mortar joint repair ($39,000), replacement of Finley’s concrete landings ($45,000), replacement of asbestos floor tiles ($500,000), replacement of the canopy in front of the school ($500,000), restoration of the athletic fields ($500,000) and accessibility improvements related to the Americans with Disabilities Act ($1.85 million).
The district hopes and expects the cost estimates attached the projects to be reduced through the bidding process. 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 payments.