With several aging schools needing maintenance and a desire to expand some facilities at others, Bartlett City Schools unveiled a $40 million, five-year Capital Improvement Plan on Thursday.

The district updates its five-year plan annually and anticipates spending $12.5 million on CIP projects this year. The budgeted amount varies over the final four years of the CIP, all of the years less than the $12.5 million earmarked for this fiscal year.

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“This does give us a roadmap,” said Superintendent David Stephens, who describes the plan as an “ever-changing, living, breathing” document based on the top needs of the district and any situations that might arise.

The CIP work this year is focused on the major renovation of the Bartlett Ninth Grade Academy, which served as Shadowlawn Middle School for many years before the BCS district formed in 2014. A $13.7 million renovation there has been underway the past two years to bring it more in line with the recent $60 million renovation of Bartlett High.

Approximately $5.1 million was used for CIP projects this past year. Major completed work included the $4 million renovation of Farley Gym at Bartlett High.

Major projects in subsequent years include roof replacements for Bon Lin Elementary and Middle, Bartlett Elementary and Appling Middle, and a gymnasium renovation at the Ninth Grade Academy.

For a couple of the district’s oldest schools, a recent facilities assessment shows Alturia Elementary and Ellendale Elementary are most in need of work in the coming years. Both were built in 1976.

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“We know those schools are going to have to be addressed at some point,” Stephens said. “One of the big driving factors right now are the sewers in Bartlett and what’s going to happen with that as far as growth, and as BlueOval City comes in ... it is going to have an impact on Bartlett.”

Because construction costs have increased significantly in recent years, Stephens expects to ask the city for help funding improvements to those schools.

One project that could be added to the plan is an expansion of Appling Middle School’s gym to bring it more in line with some of the district’s other gyms.

“If you’ve been in Elmore Park or Bon Lin’s, at some point down the road it may make some sense to see if we could expand (Appling Middle School’s) gym,” Stephens said.

Elementary and secondary school Cares Act ESSER funds that districts received during the pandemic will be used towards projects this year and next.

On Thursday, Stephens also announced that BCS earned a Level 5 designation for its TVAAS (Tennessee Value-Added Assessment System) scores for student growth. Bartlett was one of only nine districts in the state (out of 143 districts) that scored a 5 in every category.

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