2007-03-29 TOP STORIES
Deja vu for high school site BOE buys former Kings Ridge land; Middle school land nears closing
by Candy Waylock	write the author
(STEPHANIE TRUE MOSS/Revue) (click for larger version) April 04, 2007 Freemanville Road residents were able to chase off a private school from the 100-acre site near their homes, but now the Fulton Board of Education has chosen the same land for the Birmingham high school. Most school officials were off for Spring Break, so details are still sketchy. But developer Richard Wernick, one of the partners who owned the land, confirmed that the Board of Education closed on the property March 30. When King's Ridge Christian School first bought the property in 2000, neighboring residents opposed the selection saying it would add traffic congestion to a road that was not built to handle it. They also opposed the quality of life disturbances a 1,200-student, K-12 private school would bring to such a rural area. The matter wound up in court, and Kings Ridge finally gave up in 2003 began another search that wound up with that school building at the corner of Bethany Road and Cogburn Road. Meanwhile, Milton has continued to grow, and now the Fulton Board of Education has come calling with a plan for an 1,800-student high school which might include a new middle school as well. White Columns resident George Ragsdale, one of the leaders in the fight to stop Kings Ridge School, said he knew the school board was looking for a site and could see this news coming. "I was expecting [news of the closing] any day," Ragsdale said. District school board member for the area Katie Reeves said she had not received official confirmation from school authorities on the close of the sale, but said any site selection involving 100 acres or more is likely to cause some controversy. "Regardless of where [the high school] is, there is going to be a hue and cry against it," Reeves said. "We just have to make the best choices we can." The new schools would offload students from Milton High School and Northwestern Middle School, with shifting attendance zones also affecting other area schools. While school officials were mum on the exact location of the proposed property site, Assistant Superintendent Michael Russell did comment on the criteria the board put in place to purchase land. "The [Fulton County School Board's] guidelines are you buy from willing sellers, with preferably the entire parcel owned by one person," said Russell. While no timeline exists for when the new high school and middle school are slated to open, the funding is available in the Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST), which was just recently extended through 2012. Therefore, construction of the new schools will likely start construction by 2012. The system has long proposed a new high school for the city of Milton, with a new middle school more recently on the radar. "What we've said for a long time, and the numbers support us, is that we need one high school east and one high school west of Georgia 400," said Russell. "We've started the process on a new high school in Johns Creek [opening in 2009] and are now on the west side." The SPLOST funds a middle school in North Fulton, but does not specify the location. Therefore the school system could opt to build a middle school on the east side of 400 in Johns Creek if the need is greater on that side of the highway. As far as numbers for Milton High School, without a new school to offload students, the area's newest high school will have an enrollment of nearly 3,000 students by 2011, according to school system projections. Milton currently has 2,100 students. The purchase price of the land was not announced, but the school system budget is $25 million for land for a new high school and middle school. During a meeting with the Milton City Council in January, Fulton School Superintendent James Wilson pledged to work closely with the new city leaders to ensure the school is a fit for the community. At the time, Wilson did not confirm co-locating a new elementary, middle and high school in one general area. However, he said the strategy has been successful at Crabapple Crossing Elementary, Northwestern Middle and Milton High. The arrangement allows schools to share resources and be more efficient with transportation. It is a strong possibility the school system will use such a tactic with the new high school and middle school slated for the county in the next few years. The Birmingham Road elementary school is opening in 2009. Milton Councilwoman Tina D'Aversa-Williams said school officials have been clear from the beginning that local government has limited involvement in school site selection. "We really have not been in the information loop, although [Fulton School officials] have been very cordial," said Williams. "I think most of the council members are in the same position as most of the citizens as far as what they know about the new high school." The secrecy involved in the purchase of a school site was necessary to provide confidentiality and privacy to the seller and to ensure the school system gets the best price for the land, according to school officials.

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