Finance Director Letter

a message from the CHIEF FINANCE AND OPERATIONS OFFICER

This is such an exciting time to be part of Lee-Scott Academy. We continue to focus on ensuring that the operational side of Lee-Scott provides an environment where are students are protected, nurtured, and challenged. We are so very grateful for the generosity of the Lee-Scott families that have allowed us to maintain and upgrade our campus. The bullets below share the highlights of upgrades around campus over the last year. • In the summer of 2021, we repaired the infield track. The prior topsoil depth was too shallow resulting in a hard rocky soil that was unsafe. We were able to add adequate topsoil and replant the grass to provide a safe playing surface which is used as our PE outdoor classroom, our soccer field and our football practice field. As part of the rebuilding, we are installing a throwing pit for track. • Lights will be added around the perimeter of the track. Lighting will allow for use of the field for late afternoon and night events. We hope to have the lights up and functional by the first home soccer game in spring 2022. • In the fall of 2021, we significantly upgraded the sound system in the cafeteria. We were able to use the new sound system for the theatre performance during this past Christmas season. • Over the last two years we have repainted classrooms in all buildings. • We replaced countertops in the bathrooms near the gym and in the lower school bathrooms. • We replaced the cabinets on the back wall of the cafeteria. • We are in the process of upgrading the air conditioner units. The units in the classroom are original to the building and were beginning to fail and causing significant upkeep and repair costs. We contracted the last two years to replace 10 units per year. We anticipate completing the project in the summer of 2023. In addition to the classroom units, we have replaced the bigger units that service the gymnasium. • Over the last three years we have added control access to all buildings. Now all doors require a fob scan rather than a key to enter the building. This allows us to know who enters our buildings at all times. In addition, we have digital control of all doors. The system is tied to our intercom system Anytime an intruder drill is triggered through the intercom, all exterior doors are locked to prevent unwanted entry. • Unfortunately, our fire and intercom systems were hit by lightning in the spring of 2021. We replaced the intercom system over the summer and did extensive repairs to the fire system. We have the ability to decide which areas of the school (including classrooms) can here announcements or bells. This is a huge advantage during testing. We can designate classrooms as testing sites and

prevent the bell and intercom from interrupting those sites while allowing the rest of the school to function as normal. • We replaced the bleachers in the gym during the fall of 2021. The bleachers are controlled by motors. We incurred significant costs to replace and maintain the motors.

We are excited for the look of the new bleachers that include banners on the ends to hide the underbelly of the bleachers. • After many years partnering with Lexington Foods (formerly Valley Foods), in the fall of 2021 we began a new cafeteria service contract with Long Pine Hospitality. Long

Pine is owned by John Corbin and Kerry McGinnis. John’s daughter attends LSA. Long Pine has provided cafeteria service for Southern Union. • We significantly upgraded the library over the last year.

We dedicated an area for upper school students which includes a coffee bar. We added a smart board and created a section of the library for small group research and for team collaboration that includes soft seating and a smart board. In order to section off this area while still allowing use of the full library, we added retractable glass doors.

The doors can also serve as a working area for students to use dry erase markers and brainstorm or work problems collaboratively on the glass doors. • We enclosed the baseball/softball batting cage area in the summer of 2021. This allows full year use of the batting cages. • We added numerous benches around campus to encourage outside seating. • We began a partnership with Auburn Grounds to provide lawn maintenance service for the school grounds. Athletic fields continue to be maintained by CRA. • We partnered with Campus Pay to offer online payment options for our families. For years we have offered the option to pay tuition online through Diamond Mind. But, only in the last year did we expand the option to include other areas.

I love being a part of the LeeScott family and serving on the amazing team that strives every day to offer an educational environment that encourages all students to be successful.

Mrs. Lynn Waldrip Finance/Operations Director