CITY SCHOOLS: New schools, stadium roof top 5-year plan

Published 5:00 am Friday, September 13, 2019

Two new elementary schools and a new intermediate school are on the wishlist for Athens City Schools, while other schools are in the plans for improvement over the next five years.

The to-do list of improvements, which is really a wish list and not set in stone, is required by the state of every school district. Items can move up or down on the list as desired by the administration.

Some projects, like building a new Athens Elementary School, are already underway.

“We will be bidding out demolition on Oct. 10 and awarding the project Nov. 17,” Serena Owsley, chief school financial officer, told board members Tuesday. Schools will be and awarding a bid Nov. 17, she said.

She said officials assessed all the system’s roofs in order to plan and prioritize repairs and replacements. She said she would also like to have an HVAC assessment. Below are the items listed on the five-year capital plan, the nature of the proposed repairs or upgrades and the projected cost:

2020

• iAcademy at Athens Elementary School, new school, $15 million;

• Athens Middle School, roofing only, $150,000;

• SPARK Academy at Cowart Elementary School, roofing only, $293,000;

• Athens High School, land improvements, $345,000;

• AHS, roofing only, $135,000; and

• AMS, HVAC only, $60,000.

2021

• HEART Academy at Julian Newman Elementary School, roofing only, $200,000;

• Athens Intermediate School, additions, $3.2 million;

• HEART, roofing only, $82,500;

• SPARK, HVAC only, $55,000;

• Athens Renaissance School, additions, $2 million;

• SPARK, roofing only, $310,000; and

• AHS, additions and renovations, $3 million.

2022

• HEART, HVAC only, $75,000;

• AIS, land improvements, $250,000; and

• AMS, land improvements, $100,000.

2023

• SPARK, roofing only, $120,000;

• HEART, roofing only, $227,000;

• Athens City Board of Education, new school, $15 million; and

• Athens Middle School, renovations, $1.5 million.

2024

• HEART, roofing only, $70,000;

• AHS, additions and renovations, $6 million; and

• AIS, new school, $20 million.

Priorities

School administrators also prioritized the various projects. Here are the top 15:

• iAcademy, using proceeds from the sale of bonds to fund the new elementary school building and completing the work in 2022;

• AMS, adding a section of roof to the north end of the school, 2020 completion;

• SPARK, replacing the roof over both classroom wings, 2020 completion;

• AHS, building a new parking lot, 2020 completion;

• AHS, roofing at the football stadium, 2020 completion;

• AMS, replacing the HVAC, 2020 completion;

• HEART, replacing the roof in three areas, 2021 completion;

• AIS, adding more classrooms for enrollment growth, 2021 completion;

• HEART, replacing roof over two areas, 2021 completion;

• SPARK, replacing HVAC, 2021 completion;

• ARS, adding space to school, 2022 completion;

• SPARK, roofing two sections , 2021 completion;

• AHS, adding/renovating field house/indoor athletic training facility, 2021 completion;

• HEART, replacing HVAC, 2022 completion; and

• AIS, adding parking lot, 2022 completion.