Beginning May 31 through the end of June, ongoing construction projects at William James Middle School (WJMS) will temporarily close all entrances to the school except the bus ramp drive off of U.S. Highway 80 at Simons Road.
Bus ramp drive
All traffic to the WJMS, including all school district employees, law enforcement, public utilities, vendors, and student families, must use the bus ramp drive for parking, summer learning drop off and pick up, and deliveries. To enter the building, use Entrance D from the bus ramp sidewalk. A WJMS employee will be in the area to assist with check in.
For your safety, please do not use the main driveway on U.S. Highway 80 West and the new Knight Drive for any reason. These are heavy construction zones. There will be scheduled paving and increased oversized construction vehicle traffic in these areas through the end of June. Even if these entrances’ barricades are moved to allow construction traffic, it’s imperative that public traffic not use these entrances. Please refer to the guide and map below.
E-SPLOST IV in Action at William James Middle School
Please pardon any inconvenience during this progress. William James Middle School is benefitting from more than $2.9 million in new construction. This is funded by Bulloch County voters’ support of a fourth education special local option sales tax referendum. These two projects will add a new main driveway entrance and parking off of U.S. Hwy. 80 West, and a new athletic complex that will allow the school’s football, soccer, tennis, softball and baseball program to both practice and compete at the school for the first time in school history.
In June 2021, the Bulloch County Board of Education unanimously approved (8-0) a bid for $5.25 million for new athletic complexes at Langston Chapel Middle School and William James Middle School. Designed by Hussey Gay Bell Architecture and constructed by Dabbs Williams Contractors, the athletic complexes will each include a six-court tennis court, a combined football-soccer field, softball field, baseball field, concession, and restrooms.
Middle school athletic facilities are a priority, identified by both the Board of Education’s E-SPLOST IV and Facilities committees. The community committees met to review and prioritize a proposed list of projects to guide the use of the funds generated by the education special-purpose local option sales tax for capital improvements.
Registered voters in Bulloch County approved in a special election on Nov. 7, 2017, the one-cent sales and use tax for educational purposes for a five-year period (Jan. 1, 2019 - Dec. 31, 2023). E-SPLOST IV will raise approximately $60 million for identified capital improvement projects at each of the district’s 15 schools and alternative learning centers.
