Murphy – Thursday marked the beginning of a major transition for the Cherokee County Board of Education.
The November meeting was the first for the new Cherokee County Schools superintendent – Dr. Keevin Woody, who took over his role Nov. 1 – and the last for four outgoing board members.
By a 4-2 margin, the board officially approved two changes to its contract with architect firm LS3P based on discussions held during the October meeting. LS3P is the firm that was hired to build a consolidated high school adjoining the Schools of Innovation & Technology in Peachtree.
The board’s vote updates the contract’s language to reflect the current estimated cost of $48 million for the planned facility. The superintendent also noted an amendment stating that the school board can expand the project to include athletic fields, which would further adjust the cost.
“The first change, in adjusting the contract price, is basically what the board approved last month,” board attorney Dean Shatley added. “The second change, in regards to the athletic fields, all it is saying is that the board has the option to increase the scope of the project to add the athletic fields at any time, really.”
LS3P is owed a 6.5 percent fee based on the final construction cost. Members of the firm said during the board’s October meeting that a complete set of athletic fields would add a minimum of $11.5 million to the project. They acknowledged that it will be difficult to fit all of the school’s athletic facilities – a football field with a track, baseball field, etc. – onto the current site.
The board’s October meeting included lengthy discussions about the importance of a new high school’s athletic fields. Board member Jeff Tatham said Monday that the issue goes beyond sports.
“Every architect we interviewed said the only way you make consolidation successful is you bring all the communities together,” Tatham said. “It’s not just about sports. It’s really not just that, that’s how the community identifies with a school.”
Woody said the goal is for LS3P to present more detailed information about athletic fields by the January 2023 meeting.
“There’s a lot of information, a lot of data they have to try to pull together, so hopefully no later than January, but I think their goal is December,” Woody said.
Although he had only been in the job for 10 days as of Thursday’s meeting, Woody said he’s already received a good reception.
“Everyone has been very welcoming and reaching out,” he said. “I’ve had the opportunity to visit all of our schools within our district.”
Woody and board Chair Arnold Mathews spent a portion of Thursday’s meeting honoring the board’s four outgoing members: vice chair Jeff Martin, Joey Shore, Joe Wood and Keesha Curtis. They will be replaced in December by Jeannie Gaddis, Jason Murphy, Shannon Raper and Steve Coleman, who were officially elected Nov. 8.