The construction on the second building at the Coweta Charter Academy (CCA) at Senoia has begun. The long-awaited expansion project will add 30 new classrooms to the school and will provide enough classroom space to eventually accommodate 860 students in grades K-8.
CCA parents in January got what they had been waiting for when the school received a five-year renewal of its charter beginning in the 2013-2014 school year. That led to the commitment to construct the long-awaited building that will house grades K-8.
Florida-based Red Apple Development, LLC is constructing the building and will lease it to the Ga. Charter Educational Foundation (GCEF), according to GCEF board member Lyn Michaels-Carden. As for academics, Florida-based Charter Schools USA will continue to provide the school’s educational management.
The construction will be completed in time for the new school year in August and will include a two-story, 35,665 square-foot classroom building that will house 30 classrooms. That expansion will be in addition to the current 22,000 square-foot classroom building and sanctuary that includes 11 classrooms. The expansion will also include adding another 1,320 square feet to the cafeteria area in the original building, according to development plans.
There will be yet another change sometime during the next school year when the current sanctuary is converted into a half-gymnasium.
The school currently serves grades K-5, with 6th grade being added in 2013-2014 and the expectation of an enrollment of 660 students. The school will add a grade in each of the subsequent two years when it will serve grades K-8. At maximum enrollment the school will accommodate approximately 860 students.
Prior to what essentially amounted a blockage of the charter school movement in Georgia by the state Supreme Court in 2011, Charter Schools USA had signed a lease-purchase agreement to buy the school property. The issue was on hold until Georgia voters in November gave their approval on a constitutional amendment that is reigniting the charter school move statewide. With that obstacle out of the way, and with CAA receiving a five-year charter renewal, it is expected that Red Apple will purchase the property and construct the school.
The Senoia City Council in April 2011 voted unanimously to accept an annexation request that brought the charter school property into the city. The move paved the way for sewer services to be extended along Ga. Highway 16 to the school property at Red Apple’s expense. It also enables the city to serve additional customers in the immediate area.
