High school deconstruction about to begin

By Michael Butler

The days are numbered now for the old school on the Tallassee High School grounds. The building that has served as the primary structure for classroom study is scheduled to be replaced by a $21 million facility. Deconstruction of the 1929 building is scheduled to begin next week.

"The scheduled date is June 15," Dr. Brock Nolin, Tallassee City Schools superintendent stated. "Selective demolition will be pulling out the components that we want to retain: some flooring, some of the facade on the outside, the columns, the arches, bricks."

Items will be saved and repurposed with some parts even available for alumni to purchase with a coffee table book Nolin has titled, "The Old School."

"It'll be pictures over the decades of the school and school activities with writings from different people. They'll have an opportunity to purchase a brick and a book."

Industrial Arts was one of the first classes at the 1929 school

While work is already underway on the new portion of the high school adjacent to the main building, Nolin expects the old school to be a clean slate for future construction prior to the start of the 2021-22 school year.

"It'll take a while to get everything cleaned up and trucked off. I anticipate the site will be clean by the end of summer."

September of 2022 is the projected completion date of the new school. Meanwhile, students during the next school year will utilize modular units already in place on the campus.

The brand new school in 1929