The DeKalb school board decided to move ahead Monday with several construction projects despite concerns from some board members that the district doesn’t have a clear idea of which students will be able to go to those schools.
The board set guaranteed maximum prices for several projects, which will allow construction to get started as soon as possible. Notably, the district will spend $44.4 million on the modernization of Cross Keys High School and $87 million on the first phase of constructing a new Sequoyah middle and high school.
They’re part of a slate of projects the district is trying to get started as soon as possible in order to lock in pricing. Skyrocketing construction costs are stretching DeKalb’s sales tax funding, which is used for capital improvements. For example, the projected cost for the construction of a new Dresden Elementary facility was $38 million in March 2023. The board on Monday set the guaranteed maximum price for the project at $72 million — nearly double the expected price.
On Cross Keys High School, board members Whitney McGinniss and Anna Hill were concerned that the school may not be open to neighborhood students in the future. At a recent community meeting, McGinniss said an idea came up to make the school the home of a magnet program with enrollment criteria rather than a school that those who live in the area can attend. The board members felt similarly about the Sequoyah project: They didn’t want to begin work on new schools that could have different uses in the future, and therefore could have different design considerations.
“I cannot in good conscience agree to move forward in any way ... until we are very sure that the students in this community can go to that school,” Hill said about the Cross Keys High School project. The community around the high school has been pushing for upgrades for years. In 2022, Cross Keys High students joined Druid Hills High students in rallies outside school board meetings to draw attention to the schools’ needs.
Credit: Jason Getz / Jason.Getz@ajc.com
Credit: Jason Getz / Jason.Getz@ajc.com
Other board members felt like it was important to begin the planning and site preparation while having those discussions. The district is in the beginning stages of its student assignment planning process, which will examine school attendance boundaries, access to special programs and where to build new schools. It will be nearly two years before the committees will be ready to make those recommendations.
The board also formally nixed plans to build a new Dunwoody/Chamblee Elementary School. After evaluating the enrollment predictions in the area, district staff decided it would not be necessary to build a new 950-seat school in that region. An architect had already completed the designs for the new school, and the district retained a general contractor.
“I think the Dunwoody Elementary project is actually a really good example of why I’m not comfortable moving forward with the Cross Keys and Sequoyah projects — we spent $7 million on an elementary school we are not building,” McGinniss said.
Cutting that project, along with future plans to build a Cross Keys Middle School and plans to update sprinkler systems that were deemed unnecessary, frees up nearly $150 million for the district to spend on its remaining long list of projects and to help cover rising construction costs.
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