Construction projects within the Pearl River County School District are nearing completion.

Pearl River Central School District Chief Operations Officer T.J said the remaining project include the auditorium on the Carriere campus, concession stands, new facility and new locker room constructions. The Board approved this project for their 2023 FY budget.

The auditorium under construction is located on the campus of Pearl River Central High School and will feature three classrooms and will seat up to 1,000 people. One classroom will be a band hall, another will be for the show choir and the last room is for a theater class.

“The Auditorium construction is ongoing…they are making progress on the Auditorium and stage portion of the building,” said Burleson.

The auditorium had a few hick ups in the past months. During the first full week of school there was a small leak in the classroom side of the auditorium. Burleson said the leak was quickly fixed and as a precautionary measure the affected class was moved to another classroom. Problems with the air conditioning controls caused another small leak in the auditorium on Aug. 18 and was fixed the following day.

In the Board of Trustee’s previous meeting on Aug. 11. the Board agreed to cover athletic department construction projects with funds included in the FY 2023 budget. That project includes concession stands at the baseball and softball fields. Work on that project is awaiting the proper permits to begin work. Burleson said the Board hopes to have the project complete by the start of baseball and softball season. The cost for this project is $264,030.

A cheer and dance facility is also planned and construction on is expected to start this month September and be completed by the end of May. The facility will be located behind the Pearl River Central Middle School Library building and will connect with the parking lot. The cost for this project is $675,000.

Construction of volleyball locker rooms and a concession area in the elementary gym is in progress and should be completed in the next few weeks.  The cost for this project is $55,000.