TCSS Approves COVID Leave; Funding For Turf, Hillcrest Gym & More

TUSCALOOSA, AL — The Tuscaloosa County Board of Education unanimously approved additional COVID-19 sick leave for its employees during its regular meeting Monday night, in addition to stamping off on a long list of highly-anticipated capital projects.

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As Patch reported prior to the meeting, all TCSS employees who test positive for COVID-19 will now have up to 10 additional days of paid leave to isolate, quarantine and recover. This applies to both vaccinated and unvaccinated employees.

The new COVID-19 leave will be retroactive from Aug. 5 - Oct. 31, Superintendent Keri Johnson and the Board of Education will then review pandemic data prior to that date to determine whether or not to extend the leave past that time.

In addition to awarding employees much-needed sick leave, the school board also approved its list of highly-anticipated capital projects for Fiscal Year 2022

Here's a breakdown of the projects approved

Projects covered under 2017 Bond Refinancing

• Brookwood High School football stadium: $6.4 million
• Tuscaloosa County High School fire alarm system: $450,000

Projects covered under Public School and College Authority (PSCA) funding

• Taylorville Primary School activity building: $1.9 million
• CTE addition for Hillcrest High School: $6 million
• Hillcrest High turf football surface: $1.4 million
• Addition to Northside Middle School: $2 million
• Northside High School baseball fields: $280,000
• Northside High turf football surface: $1.4 million
• Addition to Vance Elementary: $5 million
• Addition and renovations to Myrtlewood Elementary: $4.2 million
• Sipsey Valley High turf football surface: $1.4 million

Projects covered by the American Rescue Plan Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund

• Brookwood High School football fieldhouse: $3.05 million
• Hillcrest High School gymnasium: $7 million
• Hillcrest High cafeteria: $1 million
• Northside High School career technical : $4 million
• Northside High fieldhouse: $1 million
• Northside Middle School cafeteria: $1 million
• Sipsey Valley Career Tech: $659,453
• New windows: $600,000 per school. (Crestmost, Collins-Riverside, Engelwood, Faucett-Vestavia, Matthews and Westwood).

Projects covered by TCSS Advancement Technology Fund

• Various projects requested by each school, which include painting, bathroom remodeling, pressure washing, design work, and other needs, totaling $3.93 million.

Buses and service vehicles approved

• Two new school buses: $174, 569
• Two new service trucks for transportation: $100,000
• Two new service maintenance trucks: $90,000

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