Members of the Marshall School Board looked out over the Marshall Middle School gymnasium during a building tour last week. A number of building updates, including refinishing the gym floor, were done at MMS this summer.

MARSHALL — Some parts of Marshall Middle School will have a noticeable new look this year, Marshall School Board members learned last week. During a building tour, board members got to see updates to the MMS gymnasium, as well as new flooring in some high-traffic areas like the cafeteria.

The building tour also included a visit to the site of MPS’s new Career and Technical Institute, on North U.S. Highway 59 in Marshall.

Funding for 2023 building projects at MPS came from a combination of $1.08 million in building bonds and an estimated $747,000 in long-term facilities maintenance funding, said MPS director of business services Dion Caron

During the school board’s tour, Caron and MPS Superintendent Jeremy Williams pointed out some of the work that has been done at the middle school this summer. Some of the biggest updates were to the cafeteria and gymnasium. The tile on the cafeteria floor was removed and replaced with new flooring, and the walls and pillars were given a fresh coat of paint.

Caron and Williams said more updates were also done in the middle school gymnasium this year. The gym floor was sanded, patched in some areas that had water damage, and refinished, they said. The district visited with physical education teachers and junior high basketball coaches to get feedback on which court lines should be emphasized on the new floor. They said the basketball courts on the sides of the gym were used most often.

The gym also got updates like new paint on the walls.

Caron said flooring replacements were also done in a variety of different areas around MMS. For example, carpet was removed student locker areas at the middle school, and new carpet and floor coverings were installed in the band and choir rooms. Floor tiles were also replaced in the middle school science labs, Caron said.

“All the tile needed replacing,” he said. Some of the floor tiles that were replaced were old enough that the district also needed to do asbestos removal, Caron said. One of the classrooms that got new flooring, the art room, still had tile that was original to the 1968 school building, he said.

Some of the updates at the middle school were decorative ones. Board members saw new Marshall Tiger logos had been painted at the entrance to each of the main classroom wings in the school.

Construction continues at CTI

Renovations of buildings at the Career and Technical Institute site are ongoing, Williams said last week. One of the first things board members saw was new signage for the CTI out by the side of North Highway 59.

On the building tour, board members saw the progress that has been made renovating existing structures into a classroom area for Certified Nursing Assistant education, as well as offices and space for auto shop and welding classes.

“The roof is done,” Williams said of the main building. HVAC systems, electrical and plumbing lines had also been completed. Williams said current plans for the CTI included two bathrooms, but enough lines had been put in to allow for future expansion of the facility.

Some of the interior walls for the classroom area were under construction when school board toured the CTI. Ventilation systems for the welding area were also in place.

Williams said MPS is still planning on having the CTI up and running by the second quarter of the upcoming school year.

“I’m really excited about this,” Williams said.