The latest construction work taking place on the campus of Selma High School has not only been an upgrade to the educational and athletic facilities — it has also been a boost to the local economy.

Many of the projects are under contract with Cooper Brothers Construction, a Selma-based company.

Cooper Brothers director of operations Steven South said there is a certain amount of pride that goes along with a local project. An added bonus, he said, is many of the workers are able to go home each night and spend time with their families instead of a hotel room. This, he said, has also proven cost effective for the company and workers.

“It’s always good to work in your own hometown for the pride of doing something for the community,  and it is also a cost saver as far as the travel, gas and hotels,” he said. “It’s always nice to keep any work at home.”

The project, South said, includes a total of five buildings. The four vocational buildings at the rear of the school are renovations. South said the company is using this project to bring the buildings up to the standards of the new Selma High School construction.

The idea, he said, is to make these buildings resemble the new buildings without having to tear them down and build new facilities.

The fifth building is a new field house and physical education building. This structure, South said, will be a completely new state-of-the-art facility for athletics teams and classes.

Construction and renovations recently began, South said, and should be complete by the end of the summer.

“We’re hoping to have the vocational buildings done by August sometime before the start of the school year,” he said. “The physical education building should be done by June so the football team can use it for summer workouts.”

The construction, South said, is a more than $2 million project. Because Cooper Brothers is a local company, that money will stay in Dallas County.

“It’s money that stays at home, which is always good” he said.