School may be out, but the hallways in school buildings are not sitting empty this summer. Improvements and overall maintenance is being done in every school building in the Vicksburg Warren School District.

Maintenance supervisor Bill Sanderford said large-scale enhancements are coming to the local schools this summer. Every school building in the district is becoming more energy and water efficient with help from contracted company Johnson Controls.

“We’re doing that district wide,” he said. “This is a pretty big project.”

The heating and air conditioning units and controls will be updated. These updates include scheduled on and off times for the units so less energy is used when the building is empty.

“They don’t run continuous day and night,” Sanderford said of the upgraded units, which replaced some units that were more than 20 years old.

As for new lighting, he said the district is installing LED lights in the gymnasiums. Water saving measures are being put in place by installing efficient toilets and urinals with low water flow.

The purpose of the upgraded is to modernize the local facilities, he said. Plus, the efficient equipment will help cut the energy bills each month.

“It was just time for an upgrade,” Sanderford said.

He said fresh coats of paint will be applied to the walls in the schools and the usual lawn maintenance will be kept up throughout the summer.

“We’re just getting all the buildings ready for school to start,” Sanderford said.

Custodians from several Vicksburg Warren School District schools worked together Thursday to wax all the floors in Vicksburg High School.

Melva Thomas of South Park Elementary School said the custodians label and move all desks and classroom equipment into the hallway before they rinse, scrub and strip the floor. Once the floor is cleaned, she applies the wax with a mop.

“We’ve been working ever since school was out,” Thomas said.

Warren Central High School custodian Koury Moore was part of the work crew, and he gives Thomas a lot of credit for the work she does waxing the floor.

“She does most of the waxing. She likes the waxing. She does an excellent job,” Moore said.

Thomas said it is important to wax the floors each summer because of the built up dirt from daily use during the school year. Moore said the building’s age also contributes to the necessity of cleaning the floors annually.

“We’re getting it ready for the kids before they get here,” Thomas said. “That’s our main goal making sure it’s good and clean before the kids enter the building.”