The Andalusia Board of Education voted 3-2 to replace the windows in the new pressbox at the Andalusia High School stadium.

The current windows are much like residential windows that open, but the frames of those windows inhibit the view, especially in the center part of the pressbox reserved for filming. They were not the windows originally designed for the pressbox, but were substituted when the board asked the contractor to value engineer the original bid specifications to help save money.

Board member Amy Dugger voted against the motion, saying she feels the architect is responsible for the unacceptable window change.

“GMC (Goodwyn Mills and Cawood) needs to come to the table,” Dugger said. “ I feel strongly they need to come to the table. We may not get anything resolved, but if we pay for that, we will get no recourse.

“We met with the guy who designed the (pressbox) in the LSU stadium. We talked at length about an unobstructed view. This is a design flaw, and I don’t think we should pay for a design flaw.

“I am a registered nurse practitioner. I don’t read designs,” she said. “But what we have is residential windows. I would love to ask the LSU designer did they put those in the LSU pressbox?”

Board member David McCalman also voted against the change.

“There are a few things I would like for them to answer for us as well,” he said.

With the board’s vote, they will spend approximately $41,000 to replace the center (filming) windows with an accordion folding window, and the side windows with “storefront” or plate glass.

In other construction-related business, the board:

• Authorized the superintendent to spend up to $2,500 to fix a drainage problem on the new football field.

• Took no action on recommendations from Jerry Wishum, who manages the auditorium at LBWCC, on potential items to add to the AHS auditorium, currently undergoing renovations. The recommendations included adding additional scene battens, lights, and upgrading the sound system.