Work on Phase 1 of the renovation of Booth Middle School on South Peachtree Parkway in Peachtree City is expected to begin in the coming weeks and be completed in time for the coming school year. Phase 2 of the $13.5 million project will be done next summer.
The Fayette County Board of Education recently approved the guaranteed maximum price of $11,752,415 for the renovation work to be completed in two phases. Total cost for the project, including renovation, furniture, safety and security features, architectural and engineering fees and the energy management system, totals $13.5 million.
A significant percentage of the total cost, approximately $6 million, is reimbursable by the state due to the age of the school, excluding the west wing that was built in 2002. Once reimbursed, the local cost will be approximately $7.5 million.
School system Facilities Director Mike Satterfield said Phase 1 of the renovation, which will total approximately 40 percent of the project, is expected to begin in a few weeks.
Phase 1 will include work on the west wing such as painting, floor coverings, ceiling tiles, lights, roofing and the HVAC system. Phase 1 also includes replacing the roof on the older part of the school, Satterfield said.
The Phase 2 portion of the project, which includes a more extensive renovation of the older portion of the school, will be done next summer, said Satterfield.
At the Carriage Lane location of the new Booth Middle School, Satterfield said grading work has been completed and work on the footings is essentially ready to begin. Construction of the new school is expected to be complete in late 2021, said Satterfield.
At the original meetings with citizens about the Booth project 3 options were presented of which one would be chosen. Apparently, they chose two out of three. Perhaps they need to get old Booth in condition to sell, or for other purposes. It seems a bit disrespectful to the community not to explain their reasons for these expenditures.
Even if old Booth is repurposed, it deviates from the original logic the Board communicated for building New Booth. Old Booth was supposed to be sold for millions to offset the cost of new Booth. Instead they spend even more.
This is why elections matter! This shouldn’t be happening.
Actually, elections don’t matter when it comes to school board.
They have a bunch of other people’s money guaranteed and the ability to get more thru bonds without accountability and no matter what they say before being elected, they all do the same thing after being elected. Remember the 2 busybody Hausfraus we kicked out for building that unneeded school? Well, its their replacements doing this.
You/we simply can’t win.
I wonder what it would take to get equal funding for Charter schools, tax credits for home schooling or vouchers to pay for private schools when you lose faith in the government schools and the teacher’s. union to educate your kids? Just asking.
Maybe the County will remove the ugly white butler building they build at the school, fully visible from the parkway. That couldn’t be constructed on a citizens property in Peachtree City.
Truly. What do they even use it for?
Wait – what? This doesn’t make any sense. We’re going to spend $13.5 million to renovate a school that we’re spending $50 million to build new? At the same time? If I was reading about this as a non-taxpaying citizen I’d laugh ab/the redundancy & wasteful spending – but I am not laughing…we’re the ones paying???