Officials Break Ground for New South Elementary School in Carnesville

The elementary school under construction in Carnesville now has its official name.

Students from Royston Elementary helped unveil a banner announcing South Franklin Elementary School as the name of the new school during the groundbreaking ceremony Tuesday evening.

The name was chosen by Royston Elementary staff out of a total of 70 suggested names submitted by the public.

Those were narrowed down to three finalist names, South Franklin Elementary, Asbury Royston Elementary School after the founder of the City of Royston, and Christopher J. Forrer Elementary School after the late school superintendent Chris Forrer who passed away last year.

Speaking about the new school on Highway 145 in Carnesville, School Superintendent Melanie Burton-Brown called it the beginning of an incredible journey for Franklin County students.

In his opening remarks, Assistant School Superintendent of Operations Carl Dekker said the new elementary school will allow generations of children to grow and thrive.

Dekker also thanked the members of the Franklin County Board of Education for their hard work and vision in making the new elementary school a reality.

Royston Elementary School Principal Quowanna Mattox called the groundbreaking an exciting time for students and staff at Royston Elementary.

Talks to replace the current Royston Elementary School with a larger more centrally located school have been in the works since 2015.

But it was former School Superintendent, the late Chris Forrer, who spearheaded the project in 2020 with the active search for property, pointing out that the County is expected to grow rapidly and the Franklin County Charter School System needed to be prepared.

After over a year of meetings, searching, and public input, the site on Highway 145 was announced in a called meeting in the summer of 2021.

In April 2022, the Franklin County Board of Education approved a contract to purchase the 124 acres on Highway 145 in Carnesville for just over $748,000.

In May of this year, the Franklin County Board of Education formally approved the construction contract for what is now South Franklin Elementary School.

In that meeting, former Acting School Superintendent Chuck Colquitt recommended approval of the Charles Black Construction Guaranteed Maximum Price (GMP) of $25.5 million for the new Franklin County Elementary School.

The 93,500 sq foot elementary school’s construction is being funded by bonds sold in anticipation of ESPLOST VI receipts and $1.2 million in state capital outlay funding.

The expected completion date for the new South Frankin Elementary School is October 2024.