Fourth grade teacher Julie Baker is getting ready for the first day of school at McCullouch Elementary School in Jackson. She's excited for some small changes that will make a big difference to her students.

"Before [the upgrades] the lights would flicker while the kids were working which was distracting," said Baker.

And, "as we were working it would "ping" over and over again and it would sometimes happen every two minutes, very loudly," said Baker.

The pinging noise? Compliments of the old heating system. But now, there are timed lights, new floor, new white board and the new heating system with a bonus --- more shelving.

"It does a lot for our experience," said Baker. "And that will take us to a whole new level."

Thanks to bond dollars and the Federal Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the Jackson Public School System has been progressively making improvements across the district from cleaning up asbestos to installing new venilation systems --- all upgrades that the district says look good and bode well for the budget.

"They save the district money because we're more conscious about energy and how the buildings function," said Jackson Public Schools spokewoman A'Lynne Robinson.

Renovations have been happening from the inside out, including new asphalt in the parking lots and news trees and mulch. But, many say the renovations go far beyond the physical.

"If we don't have the technology that students need to learn in this information age then students fall behind," said Robinson.

Parts of the district are going from dilapidated to almost designer by making an investment in the future.