Residents in

Grantville breathed a sigh of relief Tuesday night as the Coweta County

Board of Education approved the construction a new school in the western

Coweta hamlet.

The board voted

4-2, with Marihope Troutman and Mike Sumner opposing it, to build the

school without an exact funding source.

The school

is expected to cost $6.5 million, and school officials are hopeful of

getting $2.6 million in funding from the state.

Board officials

had to make a decision this month to insure the school would be ready

for opening day next August.

"We're

going to be working with our legislators to try and find this money,"

said school system information officer Dean Jackson.

Jackson acknowledged

that it might be a tough sell at the General Assembly in January, but

said the system is looking at alternative funding methods, including special

purpose local-option sales tax funds.

"We have

some savings from SPLOST projects completed efficiently over the last

year and a half, and the school system would use those and coming SPLOST

funds for the project," Jackson said.

But, he added,

using sales tax funds could require, that other projects are delayed or

are not funded.

"We feel

confident, given current SPLOST revenue returns, that we will be able

to complete all projects on the $30 million SPLOST priority list and retire

outstanding bonds as called for in the 2001 SPLOST referendum," he

said.