For the last couple of weeks, administrative officials from the Petal School District have worked to move into their new central office, located in the former McDonald’s building on East Central Avenue, adjacent to the former central office building.
That move is now complete, as the district held a ribbon cutting for the refurbished building on the morning of August 4. The relocation was necessitated after officials discovered several structural problems – including water damage – to the former central office, at which point the offices were moved to various temporary locations around the City of Petal.
“This is a special day in the life of our district, to finally have a home – a permanent home – for us,” district superintendent Matt Dillon said after cutting the ribbon. “We’re glad to find a place to call home.
“Hopefully, you see that we’ve turned what was an eyesore into something that looks really, really nice.”
The remodeled building houses Dillon, along with the business department, academic team and the human resources department. The district’s technology department has relocated to the Red Lab, adjacent to Petal Middle School.
The new central office features 14 offices and one conference room, along with a lobby, restrooms and other space.
“This has been a godsend that we have this building, and it’s very, very special,” Dillon said. “This has been a labor of love, and we’ve still got a few other things we’ve got to work on, but we are very thankful for this.”
The former McDonald’s building – which had sat vacant for several years, since McDonald’s moved to its current location on the Evelyn Gandy Parkway – was donated to the school district by its former owner, Dr. David McKellar. McKellar had previously offered to donate the building to the City of Petal, but that proposal was denied by the Petal Board of Aldermen in November 2019, when board members – along with former Mayor Hal Marx – suggested the city would have no use for the building.
“Today is a great day for Petal,” said Jerry DeFatta, who serves as chairman of the Petal School
For the last couple of weeks, administrative officials from the Petal School District have worked to move into their new central office, located in the former McDonald’s building on East Central Avenue, adjacent to the former central office building.
That move is now complete, as the district held a ribbon cutting for the refurbished building on the morning of August 4. The relocation was necessitated after officials discovered several structural problems – including water damage – to the former central office, at which point the offices were moved to various temporary locations around the City of Petal.
“This is a special day in the life of our district, to finally have a home – a permanent home – for us,” district superintendent Matt Dillon said after cutting the ribbon. “We’re glad to find a place to call home.
“Hopefully, you see that we’ve turned what was an eyesore into something that looks really, really nice.”
The remodeled building houses Dillon, along with the business department, academic team and the human resources department. The district’s technology department has relocated to the Red Lab, adjacent to Petal Middle School.
The new central office features 14 offices and one conference room, along with a lobby, restrooms and other space.
“This has been a godsend that we have this building, and it’s very, very special,” Dillon said. “This has been a labor of love, and we’ve still got a few other things we’ve got to work on, but we are very thankful for this.”
The former McDonald’s building – which had sat vacant for several years, since McDonald’s moved to its current location on the Evelyn Gandy Parkway – was donated to the school district by its former owner, Dr. David McKellar. McKellar had previously offered to donate the building to the City of Petal, but that proposal was denied by the Petal Board of Aldermen in November 2019, when board members – along with former Mayor Hal Marx – suggested the city would have no use for the building.
“Today is a great day for Petal,” said Jerry DeFatta, who serves as chairman of the Petal School District Board of Trustees. “As somebody who grew up here, I remember Western Auto, Tillman’s Jewelers, Easterling Barbershop, and I remember when this building was built.
“It’s been kind of hard to drive downtown and see so many vacant buildings, and so to be able to play a role, as a district, in rehabbing one of the most well-known buildings in our community that’s still standing, it’s something we take a lot of pride in. We understand the importance of downtown.”
School officials had originally planned to use the facility for after-school activities, then opted to explore selling the building instead. However, those plans switched gears because of issues with the adjacent former central office building, which is undergoing repairs from the aforementioned moisture damage.
Because of that, the business office moved to the Red Lab, and the rest of Dillon’s administration relocated to a previously unutilized space at Petal-Harvey Baptist Church on South Main Street.
Rehabilitation of the former central office building, meanwhile, is expected to take more than a year. Once that project is complete, the district will move its special education team and the child nutrition department – which are currently located across the street from Petal Harvey Baptist Church – into the rehabbed building.
Meetings of the district’s board of trustees will be held at the Red Lab until the former central office is finished, at which point the meetings will resume at that location.
“It’s a major rehab project (for the former central office), and first we have to bid it out,” Dillon said. “You’re talking about it being a historic landmark, so you have to follow certain rules, and we have a lot of work to do on the inside and the exterior.
“There’s some drainage issues, the HVAC and the roof, flooring, and the list goes on. So it’s going to be a pretty extensive rehab, and it’s going to take quite some time to get us to that point. It is the only historic landmark in the City of Petal … so we’re going to dress that up next.”
District Board of Trustees. “As somebody who grew up here, I remember Western Auto, Tillman’s Jewelers, Easterling Barbershop, and I remember when this building was built.
“It’s been kind of hard to drive downtown and see so many vacant buildings, and so to be able to play a role, as a district, in rehabbing one of the most well-known buildings in our community that’s still standing, it’s something we take a lot of pride in. We understand the importance of downtown.”
School officials had originally planned to use the facility for after-school activities, then opted to explore selling the building instead. However, those plans switched gears because of issues with the adjacent former central office building, which is undergoing repairs from the aforementioned moisture damage.
Because of that, the business office moved to the Red Lab, and the rest of Dillon’s administration relocated to a previously unutilized space at Petal-Harvey Baptist Church on South Main Street.
Rehabilitation of the former central office building, meanwhile, is expected to take more than a year. Once that project is complete, the district will move its special education team and the child nutrition department – which are currently located across the street from Petal Harvey Baptist Church – into the rehabbed building.
Meetings of the district’s board of trustees will be held at the Red Lab until the former central office is finished, at which point the meetings will resume at that location.
“It’s a major rehab project (for the former central office), and first we have to bid it out,” Dillon said. “You’re talking about it being a historic landmark, so you have to follow certain rules, and we have a lot of work to do on the inside and the exterior.
“There’s some drainage issues, the HVAC and the roof, flooring, and the list goes on. So it’s going to be a pretty extensive rehab, and it’s going to take quite some time to get us to that point. It is the only historic landmark in the City of Petal … so we’re going to dress that up next.”
