The Bulloch County Board of Education has unanimously approved phase one of its long-term facilities plan which includes an initial 2,500 capacity high school for Southeast Bulloch that will be expandable to 3,000 students, as well as implementation of a district career academy concept that includes all three of the district's high schools.
A long-term facilities strategy discussion was the topic of the Board’s June 22 work session. To help guide the discussions, Superintendent of Schools Charles Wilson presented the Board with its feedback from a facilities survey and reviewed population projections that had been previously presented to the Board by County Manager Tom Couch as well as student enrollment projections and available funding resources.
Information provided by Couch on March 23, shows that Census Tract 1107 in the Southeast Bulloch area is projected to have a 62% population increase by 2030 and an additional 13% by 2040. Wilson used this information to project enrollment growth for the entire Southeast Bulloch area as well as other information provided by Couch to project student enrollment growth in the Statesboro and Portal areas at an 18% and 12% growth for the same time frame.
Based on the Board’s feedback and population growth projections, along with consideration for projected capital outlay resources available, Superintendent Wilson made the following recommendations to the Board:
- Maintain community high schools as we know them (Portal, Statesboro, Southeast Bulloch)
- Maintain direct feeder patterns for these community high schools
- Incorporate the career academy concept into all three high schools, offering a variety of programs across the district with access by all students, including transportation
- Address the school facilities needed for student enrollment growth in a cost efficient and steady manner, from both the construction and operating perspectives; reserve some level of education special purpose local option sales tax (E-SPLOST) revenues for other capital needs (ie, technology, buses, facilities improvements)
- Move forward with Phase 1 of the superintendent’s recommendation as soon as possible and utilize the Construction Management At-Risk approach to save time and stabilize cost variability
- Reserve the potential use of a debt service millage rate and issuance of general obligation bonds until further notice
On a motion by Stuart Tedders (District 3), which was seconded by Donna Clifton (District 4), the Board then unanimously voted to move forward with phase one.