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Plans shape up for Bethany Bend high
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| | | Architects unveiled this design for the new Bethany Bend high school to open in the fall of 2012 at a public meeting last week. The $70 million school is a virtual copy of Johns Creek High, but with a different facade to give it some local character. | |
November 04, 2009
Milton — Architects gave a first glimpse of the proposed Bethany Bend high school site last week, showing off the building and site plans during the first community information meeting before a crowd of about 150.
The school will be situated on a 65-acre parcel. However, 25 acres will remain undisturbed. Nearly half of the usable acreage will be used for the athletic fields, open grassy areas and landscape. These dimensions, noted Frank Destadio of the Parsons construction firm, are in line with other high schools in the area.
The $70 million school can house up to 1,900 students and is on schedule to open in the fall of 2012. It will relieve overcrowded conditions at Milton High School, which is projected to have nearly 2,800 students by 2011.
While the building is essentially Johns Creek High School, the Bethany site will have its own "signature" similar to Milton's columns and Johns Creek's clock tower. Early drawings show a front façade similar to a ski lodge, with heavy beams, dark woods and stone accents.
Its look will mirror somewhat the Kings Ridge Christian School compound directly across the street, which was designed by the same
architects.
Selecting a signature look for a high school is a relatively new standard for Fulton Schools, which began using community design committees when Milton was built several years ago. Prior to that, architects drew up plans and submitted them for approval to the board with little community input.
"We are not trying to put the Johns Creek High School here in Milton," said Destadio. "This is your school, and it's important you let us know how you want it to look."
Outside of the façade, however, the inside will mirror the other high schools, following educational specifications approved by the school system.
The Bethany Bend high school site will be a two-story building incorporating a "Main Street" design to connect all the major assembly areas with lots of natural light. A new feature of the school will be the "sports complex," which can seat up to 3,700 spectators and accommodate football, soccer, track and field, softball, baseball, lacrosse and tennis.
 View images. Community redistricting questions premature
During the time set aside for questions, most centered on the redistricting options and who will be zoned to the new school. Those questions were generally left unanswered intentionally.
Patrick Burke, chief of operations for the Fulton School System, noted the redistricting process will begin in the spring of 2011 – a full year prior to the school opening – and all options will be considered at that time.
"It's highly premature to even think about how the lines will look when we are more than two years away from the opening of the school," said Burke, who headed the redistricting process for Fulton Schools for years. "We have a process in place that has served this system well, and that is the process we will follow for this school, as well."
Fulton Schools has recently made one change in policy for redistricting. Prior to the opening of Johns Creek High, only rising 11th- and 12th-graders could remain at their home school, even if they were scheduled to be rezoned.
However, the board changed the policy to allow rising sophomores to remain as well. Transportation would not be provided for those students who wish to stay.
"This policy means that if you start at a high school, you can graduate from that high school," explained Alpharetta School Board member Katie Reeves.
However, as one parent found out at the meeting, siblings who do not meet the criteria would not be "hardshipped" to a school outside their attendance zone – unless board policy changes in the next few years.
Residents were also told any improvements to roads or utilities on property not owned by the school system could not be done as a matter of state law. Several years ago the state decreed educational funds could not be used to improve off-site properties. That rules out some traffic improvements and other enhancements under the purview of the city or county.
"Spending dollars off school property, like putting in a stop light, has legal constraints," said Frank Destadio of Parsons construction firm. "But we can improve our property, [i.e.] accel/decel lanes, changing the width of one lane, sidewalks and we'll look for other ways on how we can improve traffic flow."
Residents asked for an entrance off Ga. 9 in addition to the planned entrances off Cogburn and Bethany Bend. However, the school's property is separated from the state highway by a commercial development, and there is no public access through that site.
– Candy Waylock
Tags: Johns Creek, Milton, Milton High School
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