Former boot factory to temporarily house Waverly elementary, junior high schools

By MARISSA SULEK

Click here for updates on this story

    WAVERLY, Tennessee (WSMV) — After the deadly August floods, students in Waverly have been forced to attend classes at other schools across Humphreys County.

Now Humphreys County Schools are getting closer to getting those students back in town under the same roof.

“The room we are in is not that big and it’s OK,” Jaylee Prince, a seventh grader at Waverly Junior High School, said.

She was one of 1,100 students and staff moved to other county schools after flooding severely damaged Waverly Elementary and Waverly Junior High schools. It’s a make-shift solution Humphreys County Director of Schools Richard Rye wants to do away with.

“I wanted it yesterday just like everyone else in society now,” Rye said.

He said the county won’t rebuild the schools where they originally were. He plans to temporarily move the two schools into what used to be the Acme Boot Factory.

“They used to employ a lot of people in this county for years,” Rye said.

The long brick building will house 69 elementary and junior high classrooms.

“Cafeteria, playroom on the back, and another smaller playroom in this corner,” Rye said.

What currently is the back of the boot factory will be the front of the school. That will house the student drop-off and the schools’ offices.

“Right now, you see the cones on the top of the building,” Rye said. “The roofers had to bid that out, put the new roof on, but we are waiting on the weather.”

The building comes with challenges like a leaky roof and limited windows. Supply chain shortages also pose a problem, but Rye said he wants to finish the temporary school soon.

“Right there when school starts in August, so we are looking at the second week of August,” Rye said. “It’s going to be touch, and I know that, but that’s still our goal.”

“I’m kind of excited about it,” says Prince. “We’ve never been in a school together because we’re five years apart and it’s going to be exciting because we’ll always be together.”

It’s not a permanent solution, that’s still a few years away, but for Humphreys County schools it’s a step in the right direction.

Humphreys County Schools is working with FEMA to cover some of the cost. Rye said renovating the former boot factory was $2 million less and safer than bringing in portable classrooms.

Please note: This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.