Fulton County Schools will use up to $6 million from the recently approved sale of district property to pay for safety upgrades.
The school board in June agreed to sell the former Bailey-Johnson School and gymnasium on Kimball Bridge Road in Alpharetta to a developer for $6,020,000. District officials announced Tuesday they would earmark the proceeds to create safer campuses.
“School safety is at the forefront of all of our thoughts after the many tragedies that we experienced,” Superintendent Mike Looney said at a board meeting. “While we never can be fully prepared, I think that we are well prepared. And we will do even more preparation in advance of school starting.”
Metro Atlanta districts, like others around the nation, are reviewing and enhancing security measures in the wake of the May mass shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, and other deadly incidents.
Brian Noyes, a spokesman for the Fulton district, did not detail exactly how the money will be spent but said it will be used to address safety and security infrastructure needs identified through a safety audit conducted last year. The property sale proceeds also will help cover any additional recommendations made by a safety committee, he said in an email.
Noyes said the district will try to move quickly to make the improvements. Fulton’s first day of classes is Aug. 8.
The Alpharetta property was the previous site of a school that served Black children during segregation.
The buyer is CCB The Garren, LLC. The developer plans to renovate the campus into office space while preserving historical elements of the old school such as the brick facade.
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