A joint meeting between the Charlotte County Board of Supervisors and the Charlotte County School Board is set for Jan. 22 at 7 p.m.

The meeting will be held to discuss elementary school repairs in the county.

A post from School Board Chairman Jon Berkley said the meeting will focus on the much needed repairs at Bacon District and Phenix Elementary Schools.

“These schools have been neglected for way too long,” said Berkley. “I look forward to this opportunity to work with the BOS (board of supervisors) on the much needed repairs and updates.”

Preparations for the joint meeting have been in the works over the course of the last several months.

A joint meeting was previously held between the School Board and the Board of Supervisors April 17 to discuss needs of the elementary schools in the county.

Superintendent of Charlotte County Schools Dr. Nancy Leonard previously said following a November meeting of the School Board, a meeting to move the conversation forward with the Board of Supervisors was requested.

During that time, “the School Board requested that the Board of Supervisors representatives from Bacon and Phenix meet with the Bacon and Phenix School Board representatives to discuss needed improvements,” said Leonard previously.

However, Red Oak/Wylliesburg Supervisors Kay Pierantoni said previously the Board of Supervisors voted to have a joint meeting with all the members of both boards, not just the members representing the school districts.

“All members of both Boards need to meet and discuss …” said Pierantoni at that time.

According to a recent press release from Charlotte County Public Schools, PPEA construction at the two elementary schools is currently underway.

The release said, the “3.2 million in new construction is in progress at Bacon District and Phenix Elementary Schools. Construction progress is visibly evident at both school sites as the first phase of renovations are being completed.”

During the first phase of construction, Bacon District Elementary is set to receive a standalone gym including handicap restrooms, a storage closet and office space, according to the release.

For Phenix Elementary, an eight classroom addition with handicap accessible student restrooms is in the works, according to the release.

Following the completion of the classroom addition, current mobile units located at Phenix Elementary will be removed and construction will begin on the gymnasium.

Both elementary schools will have identical gyms constructed as a part of the process, the release said.

“ … at the end of phase 1 all students at Bacon District and Phenix will have brickand- mortar classrooms and each school will have a gymnasium …” said the release.

These projects are a part of the first phase of planned improvements for the schools.

However, the release said the $3.2 million project does not address all needs of the schools.

At that time, the release said the joint meeting was in the works to discuss the final phase of the renovations.

According to the release, “the upgrades to Bacon and Phenix both contain new security features, including a security wall at the main entrance of both schools, which would prevent access by visitors to the students in the classrooms until the visitors are screened and granted access by office staff. The requested improvements in tier 2 also include handicap accessible restrooms for students and adults, installation of external and internal ramps at Bacon District, and moving and/or arranging of the main offices of both schools to improve visibility and increased security for the students.”