Grady students start school in College and Career Center

Published 1:45 pm Thursday, August 3, 2017

CAIRO — Grady County students started the new school year in a new facility and a renovated campus. 

Construction for Cairo High School’s College and Career Center and renovation at Southside Elementary are close to completion.

The certificate of occupancy was given for Southside on Wednesday morning, Superintendent Dr. Kermit Gillard said. 

“The fire marshal came and went through Southside,” he said. 

Gillard said three minor fixes needed to be corrected at the College and Career Center prior to receiving the certificate of occupancy. 

A temporary certificate of occupancy was issued Thursday afternoon for the College and Career Center, according to College and Career Academy CEO Todd Gainous. 

Construction work remains at both, the superintendent noted. 

“At the high school, we know that the lecture hall is not completed,” Gillard said, adding the area where the lecture hall is located will be blocked off. 

Gainous said the temporary certificate was issued because of unfinished work for the lecture hall, adding the temporary certificate is a standard construction procedure. 

Southside staff were given the OK to move into the campus on Saturday and move-in began Monday, Gillard said. 

Staff at the College and Career Center was given permission to move in on Wednesday, and furniture was moved in previously, according to Gillard.  

All classes scheduled in Cairo High’s College and Career Center begin today, Gainous said. A cleanup crew worked throughout Thursday night to get the new facility ready for the first day back to school. 

College courses at Cairo High’s College and Career Center will begin in two weeks, Gillard said. 

Each lab, such as the mechatronics and health care sciences labs, is designed to match a specific industry, Gainous noted. 

“Everything we did, we had an intention behind it,” he said, noting the undertaking behind the College and Career Center was a four-year process. 

Remaining work to the College and Career Center, along with the lecture hall, includes the exterior sod placement and staff move-in. The landscaping will be an ongoing project for the high school’s agriculture department, Gainous added. 

“I’m still surprised we’ve gotten this far,” Gillard said of the projects. 

Reporter Jordan Barela can be reached at (229) 226-2400, ext. 1826.