Royston Concerned About Location of Proposed New Elementary School

Royston Mayor David Jordan and the City Council say they are concerned about a plan by the Franklin County Board of Education to close the current Royston Elementary School and build a new one.

The School Board has voted to approve projects and plans for the next Education Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax and hopes to raise another $13-million from the penny sales tax over the next five years.

That money will go towards a new Ag building at the high school and other projects.

Voters will go to the polls next March 1st to decide whether to continue the eSPLOST.

However, under the plan approved by the Franklin County School Board, both Royston Elementary and Carnesville Primary Schools will be taken offline in 2018, and a new Royston Elementary School will be built in 2021.

At their City Council meeting last week, Jordan said he was concerned about where the new school will be built.

At a recent called meeting of the School Board Jordan said he offered land the city owns adjacent to the current school for the new building, but received no definite answer as to whether the school board would use that property.

“I’d like to see something from the School Board that says, ‘we’re definitely going to do this,’” he told the Council. “For me to vote for another Esplost in, I need some guarantee that they’re going to do something for us here in Royston.”

Jordan said he heard a comment from board members that they don’t like the current location of the existing school.

“A couple of them made the comment that they don’t particularly like the property, but that’s Royston,” he said. “I don’t want to see it (new school) put way out somewhere. No one has said they’re moving it, but we’re going to be at the mercy of a whole new school board.”

Jordan said part of the current elementary school that was built in the 1950’s could be torn down, but there are newer parts he believes should stay with a new section just added on.

Councilman Keith Turman noted the City has been preparing for a new school building for some time at that same location.

“From the City’s standpoint, we have been very proactive trying to shore up property around the school making sure land acquisition wouldn’t be a problem and to make it convenient for them. We’ve acquired property over a number of years around the school because we wanted to prepare for it (new school) and we’ve done that,” Turman said.

Turman noted comments have been made by School Board members that the neighborhood where the current school is located is unsafe.

“Comments made from the Board of Education about the area around the school is not safe and I resent that,” he said. “I live in that area and we don’t have any problems with crimes in that area.”

“They didn’t say it wasn’t safe,” Jordan noted. “They just said they didn’t like the area. One issue was that it was difficult for transportation.”

“Our police department has worked diligently with the school from day one making sure of the protection of all the kids and providing traffic control,” Turman said. “We’ve got all the parameters covered right now.”

According to Assistant School Superintendent Wayne Randall, the school board will begin drawing up plans for the new Royston Elementary School in 2018 and plans to break ground for the new school building in the spring of 2021 with a view towards opening the new school in the fall of 2021.

Cost of the new building is estimated to be about $12.5 million for the building only, which does not include equipping it.

The School Board hopes monies to pay for the new school will come from the 2021eSPLOST.

So far, a location for that new school has not been determined.