James A. Jeffries Elementary
James A. Jeffries Elementary School was named after the late James A. Jeffries. Mr. Jeffries was a banker and civic leader in the community and a member of the Board of Education from 1945 to 1960. During those years he served two terms as president of the board.
Jeffries has a unique design. The building consists of several pods of classrooms which are connected to a central core facility by wide hallways.
The school was designed by the architectural firm of Harold Casey and Associates and built by the Bramer Construction Company. The building cost approximately $1,500,000 which were a part of a $6,000,000 bond approved by the voters in 1978.
When the facility opened in the fall of 1980, it had housed two different student bodies. It was known as "Disney-west" for a short time when a problem with fumes at Disney forced that school's temporary closure in January of 1980. The students at Disney were moved to the Jeffries building for the remainder of the 1979-1980 school year.
The school board in place at the time of Jeffries dedication consisted of:
Mrs. Roseann Bentley, President Larry Dixon, Vice-president
William Hart Jack Cole
Mrs. Mary Pilant Mrs. Jackie McKinsey
The administrative staff which worked closely with the construction of Jeffries was:
Dr.
J.E. Kuklenski, Superintendent of Schools
John Sweeney, Deputy Superintendent
Dr. Wanda Gray, Director for Elementary Education
Jim Neely, Director of Building Services
Bev Herndon, Coordinator, Planning and Construction
YEAR
ADDITION
Multipurpose room, library, p.e, health room,
music, speech, and offices
44,986 sq. ft.
1991 First addition of two classrooms and a
learning resource center
6,896 sq. ft.
Principals who have served at Jeffries are:
Dr. Ken Neale
Mrs. Susie Farr
Dr. John Utne
Mr. David Martin
Current Jeffries Principal:
Liz Cooper