We are honored to be part of the renovations underway at Ripley Middle School. This story below from Jackson Newspapers provides more details on the project.

RIPLEY, W.Va. — The plans to expand and renovate Ripley Middle School have been in the works for many years. As with anything that involves construction and design, the initial idea changes many times.

Assistant Superintendent for Non-Instructional Services Tim Brown said the intention to renovate the school started around 10 years ago.

“Superintendent Blaine Hess and others in my current position came up with a plan that would take out the current cafeteria and replace it with a two-story structure that would house the gym on the lower floor and two stories of classrooms around it,” he said.

The chief problem was the interruption of the learning process that would make the school a construction zone for several years.

“The idea for needed changes came from the fact that the classrooms around the cafeteria were already disrupted when lunch or other activities were going on,” Brown said. “So it was back to the drawing board.”

To begin any renovation or construction project takes financial planning and a presentation to the West Virginia School Building Authority (SBA). That competitive process ended with the SBA awarding $13,547,398, and the BOE initially committed $6,000,000 in 2023.

In December 2024, construction bids were opened, with the final contract awarded to United Construction Company from Parkersburg. The architectural firm is ZMM Architects & Engineers from Charleston.

“The shovel went into the ground in April 2025,” Brown said. “Per the contract, the company has 750 days to complete the project.”

The new plan is divided into three phases:

• Phase One includes the new school entrance, gym, team locker rooms, physical education locker rooms, a new elevator shaft, a new eighth-grade wing stairwell, and a concession stand.
• Phase Two includes renovating the current gym and locker rooms into a cafeteria and larger kitchen; the room will be multi-purpose, which can be used for practices.
• Phase Three will be the renovation of the current cafeteria into a STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, mathematics) room and the renovation of the sixth-grade wing.

“The best part of all this is, except for a blocked off exit in the current gym and relocation of two classrooms, there has been no disruption of education,” Brown said. “The toughest part has been figuring out the drop-off and pick-up. Transportation Director Rich Casto and I have spent many hours working out a plan, but our biggest challenge is winter. But we’ll figure it out.”

The other hurdles have been weather and supplies.

“At one point, it was like trying to work in a monsoon,” Brown said. “So, not to lose time, the construction company worked on the fire suppression system in the sixth-grade wing. They’ll finish that up in phase three.”

Getting steel was the chief supply issue. Brown says everything is on site now, along with a much sooner than expected brick delivery.

One of the best changes that will come from the renovation is the student traffic flow in the building.

“Right now, to get to the cafeteria, eighth graders have to go through the gym, then the lobby, and by the main office,” Brown said. “When the work is completed in phase three, it will be a straight shot.”

Ripley Middle was constructed in 1975, but several additions have increased its footprint.

“You can tell where those were added,” Brown, who was the school’s principal for 16 years, said. “The elevation changes each time.”

Brown has been in his current position for two years.

“When I took over from Michael Irwin, most of the major construction decisions had been made, but we’ve had a lot of discussion on many details all along the way,” he said. “Recently, we spent an hour talking about door locks. There are many factors to every decision, and we also want to be fiscally responsible.”

One of the best decisions made was to hire Tommy White as the clerk of the works, the person who is responsible for the daily work and the ultimate quality of the finished facility.

“Tommy has a lot of experience in both residential and commercial contracting,” Brown said. “He has an office on site and is familiar with every detail. His high standards have made a difference. For example, he has sent back multiple concrete trucks because the materials failed inspection. And he is a master at reading blueprints. I think he’s enjoying his job.”

Some changes have been made and options have been added since the initial design. The entire school is receiving new flooring and paint. The original plan did not include separate physical education and team locker rooms.

“We realized in the last pre-construction meeting that those were both needed, and we added more lockers, too,” Brown said.

With the changes requiring more funds from the board of education, the final cost for the renovation is estimated to be around $23 million.

Two big questions on everyone’s minds: 1) Why build a gym not connected to the school, and 2) when will the building be completed?

“I know it looks like the gym is separate, but when it’s all done, everyone will see how it comes together,” Brown said.

As for the second question, there is some good news.

“We anticipate phase one being completed by the start of the 2026-2027 school year,” Brown said. “That means that students can occupy and utilize the new gym, the elevator, the stairwell, the locker rooms, and the office. The other construction can continue, and most people won’t even realize it.”

The final phase – the STEAM room and sixth-grade wing renovation – is scheduled to be finished in 2027.

“When it’s all said and done, the middle school will have a gym that’s ten feet longer and wider than Ripley High,” Brown said. “And I want to brag on the contractors. They have been very easy to work with and very responsive.”