Selma City Schools will greet their students this fall with bright, fresh and clean buildings.

In fact, students at Knox Elementary, Edgewood Elementary and Selma Middle CHAT Academy might not recognize their schools at all due to elaborate renovations that cost the city more than $2 million. Funding was provided by local bonds and other grants.

Repairs at Knox and Edgewood Elementary begin the end of the previous school year in May.

And restorations to the roof at CHAT Academy and Selma High School, a project that totaled $350,000, started shortly after the school year ended, which brought the facilities to standard.

Auxiliary Services coordinator Larry Hughen said that the summer’s renovations improved the atmosphere of the schools.

Knox Elementary was installed with new air conditioning, complete painting and new kitchen equipment.

The floors, playground and outside storage areas were also renovated.

Remodeling at Edgewood included windows, doors and ceilings, floors, kitchen, kitchen hoods and complete painting.

The CHAT Academy got new windows while the old ones were bricked, ceilings were replaced, floors were painted, heating and air conditioning installed along with electrical wiring.

Knox, Edgewood and CHAT Academy all received new lighting.

Hughen noted that student performance is reflective of the conditions in which they are surrounded.

&uot;When something is new or renovated students will take more pride in it,&uot; he said.

Phoenix School is also enjoying renovations. Revenues from Children’s First which allowed the school to paint and install new air conditioning and flooring.

The Selma City School Board’s building and grounds report for August 2002 pointed out other repairs and renovations in schools around the city. Some of them include: