By NEAL WAGNER / City Editor

A new, nine-classroom wing at Pelham High School is “on track” to be completed before classes resume on August 20, said Shelby County Schools Assistant Superintendent Tom Ferguson.

“Everything is on track to be completed by the end of the summer,” Ferguson said. “I actually drove by the other day, and everything is going great.”

The new nine-classroom wing, which is being built on the southwest corner of the PHS campus, was originally scheduled to be completed in October 2011.

However, the Shelby County School Board in November 2011 terminated its contract with the Columbus, Ga.-based D. Dean and Associates because of construction delays, Shelby County Schools spokeswoman Cindy Warner said previously.

In April, the Shelby County Board of Education announced the Pelham-based Williford Orman construction company had taken over the project. During the April meeting, Shelby County Schools Facility Coordinator Randy Reeves said the project completion date for the project is Aug. 9.

When completed, the new wing will help to alleviate overcrowding at the school, which had an enrollment of about 1,800 students. The school’s enrollment likely will be cut in half when Helena High School opens in the next few years, school officials said previously.

Shelby County Schools Superintendent Randy Fuller previously said classrooms in the new PHS wing could be used to house a culinary arts institute as part of the system’s “My Future” program. The My Future program is designed to prepare students for life after high school, and will be expanding into all county high schools over the next several years.