FORT VALLEY, Ga. — The Peach County Trojans will have a new school building to call home, thanks to ESPLOST dollars.
The Peach County Board of Education and other county leaders will be breaking ground on the new Peach County High School come October 14. The new location will be along Highway 49 near Moseley Road.
One former Trojan says he's looking forward to the change.
"Everybody loves high school, especially if you went to Peach County High School, and you're a Trojan like myself," said Kevin Blalock, the owner of Eighteen36 Restaurant and Lounge in downtown Fort Valley. "My body bleeds black and gold."
Blalock graduated from the school in 1999, but he says he supports building a new school instead of fixing up the current one on Campus Drive.
"Peach County's school currently is 45 years old, you're talking about using these funds not into the old school, but putting it in a new school, you can have so many other things," he said.
Back in 2015, the Peach County Board of Education voted unanimously to continue ESPLOST for the new construction. The same vote will be on the ballots in this upcoming November election.
According to a video on the school district's website, the current high school was built in 1974. As of right now, it does not meet a few of the updated Georgia Department of Education requirements for academics, athletics, and safety. Blalock says having a new school could change that.
"We currently don't have where teams can practice on multiple courts, this new school will have multiple courts where teams can practice. I mean, I think it'll be awesome for us," he said.
As for the location, Blalock says it would be more convenient for kids from both cities in the county.
"This new school, it'll be right in the middle. You got Byron kids and Fort Valley kids, we can meet in the middle and have a brand new school, which everyone can enjoy," he said.
There is no timetable for when the new school's construction will be completed.
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