After a change of leadership Tuesday night, the Covington County School System announced several new construction projects for the coming year.

At the start of the meeting, the board elected a new president in Jeff Bailey and a new vice president in Lynda Powell.

The two are longtime board members. Bailey takes the place of Jimmy Prestwood, while Powell replaces Bailey as vice president.

The board also voted to allow bids for the re-roofing of Fleeta Junior High; a new septic tank at Red Level High School and a new air conditioning unit for the Straughn Middle and Straughn Elementary lunchroom.

Superintendent Shannon Driver said the Fleeta roof is “the worst in the county.”

“This project has been a long time in coming,” Driver said. “It’s not that it’s old, but that it was done post-Hurricane Ivan. It leaks everywhere and there’s even some floor damage because of it.

“The company that did it isn’t in business anymore, so we have to have a new company,” he said.

Driver said the current roof will be replaced with 40-year architectural shingle to match the old-style building.

The board also approved continuous improvement plans for the system’s nine schools, as well as nine personnel changes, including:

• employing Cheybrel R. Coleman as Florala High School’s nurse effective Dec. 1;

• employing Heather McLeod as teacher at Red Level Elementary;

• accepting the retirement resignation of Tony Wells as RLHS bus driver;

• transferring Vickie Owens from custodian/bus driver at RLHS to just a bus driver;

• accepting the resignation of Cartez Hall as RLHS bus driver;

• employing Jennifer Dansby as SES teacher;

• employing Jody Ann Odom as SES teacher;

• accepting the resignation of Shunkisha D. Smith as SMS lunchroom worker; and,

• employing Emily J. Odom as a speech therapist.