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Tennessee: Crews begin placing portable classes in Rhea

By: Cliff Hightower
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DAYTON, Tenn. — Portable classrooms at Rhea County High School and Rhea Central Elementary School should be installed within the next three weeks, a company representative said Monday.

“The elementary school should be completed this week, and the high school will be completed in approximately two weeks,” said Jason awson, sales representative for Williams Scotsman Inc. “All site work for the three Rhea County buildings should be completed by the end of the month.”

Contractors for Williams Scotsman Inc. started delivering and installing portables at the two schools last week, officials said. Mr. Dawson said 25 modules were delivered from a Georgia manufacturing plant and put together at the schools.

Rhea County officials voted in February to lease three buildings for five years to alleviate overcrowding at the high school and elementary school. School officials said the modular classrooms would be a temporary fix until money can be found for permanent buildings.

Rhea County voters will have a chance in the Aug. 7 state primary and county general election to vote on a half-cent sales tax that will be used to build permanent buildings, officials said.

Schools Superintendent Dallas Smith said on Monday that work has progressed smoothly. Most of the work looked complete at Rhea Central, he said. Modules at the high school need to be pieced together, Mr. Smith said.

He said the portables are far better and roomier than some of the older models the school system owns. They have wooden frames inside the walls that give more support and insulation, he said. There is currently a small, older portable at Rhea Central Elementary School used as a day care, officials said.

“They’re nice,” Mr. Smith said. “It’s a totally different concept than what we used to purchase.”

Sidewalks, ramps, awnings, water and electric wiring still need to be installed, school officials said. Mr. Smith said he hopes the complete installation will be complete when school starts Aug. 6.

“We’ve got our fingers crossed,” he said. “There’s a lot of things to do before now and early August.”

County Executive Billy Ray Patton said the first payment of $15,800 was mailed to Williams Scotsman last week. The county will make up the cost with money the Tennessee Valley Authority will pay to offset impacts from construction of the Unit 2 reactor at Watts Bar Nuclear Plant. That money will arrive in the fall, county officials said.

School board Chairman Bill Davault said he and others have been surprised at the space in the modular buildings.

“They are impressive,” he said. “Some people went there and said they didn’t expect them to look like that.”

He said he felt confident the buildings would be completed by the time school starts.

“As soon as they get them all set, we’ll be over there to hook up power and sewer,” he said.