DEMOPOLIS-The news was good from Demopolis City Schools Thursday, especially on the condition of school buildings.

Superintendent Wesley Hill reported to the Demopolis City Council the system has done a great job of upkeep and seems to be ahead of schedule for any additions.

“We have done a very good job with our buildings the last few years,” Hill said. “We think we are ahead of schedule due to some finance procedures we have implemented.”

One major change for the city’s buildings came in the air conditioning. Hill said they recently completed an alternation, which would make the buildings more comfortable.

“We remodeled our cooling system to be geothermal to help with the process of cooling the buildings,” Hill said. “We did that through what was called Quality Zone Academic Development (QZAD). Actually, the payback is less than the principal.”

The money, which was $2million, could only be used for renovations, not the construction of new buildings. Hill said putting the money to use had been a tremendous boost to the system.

“It has been really good for us,” Hill said. “I think it has put us five or six years ahead with our buildings.”

Upkeep for some of the buildings has not been easy. Some date back to 1925 and were constructed by WPA. Hill said despite 80 years of use these buildings, as well as the newer structures, are holding up well.

“Those buildings are in use and we feel they are in good shape,” Hill said. “Of course the high school is our newest building and it is still in good shape. We feel it has really put forth a good image for our school system.”

Linda Agee, Accountant for the City School System, agreed things were going well.

“I think we are way ahead of the ballgame in our capital outlay,” Agee said. “We feel like our buildings are in excellent shape based on our needs.”