PULASKI COUNTY, Ga. — What looks like an empty grass field now is the site for Pulaski County School District's future K-12 building.
Middle school teacher Rebecca Wilson says it's been a long time coming.
"My parents graduated from here, I graduated from here, so I'm working in facilities that I graduated from, so the change is always welcomed," Wilson said.
Superintendent Al Pollard and Director of Operations David Daniell agree it's time to replace their more than 30-year-old buildings for these main reasons.
"It's pretty high for a system out size of what we're spending on repairs, just repairs itself, this would save us a lot of money," Daniell said.
"You get more money if it's all under one roof with K-12. Transportation becomes less. Your operational costs are going to be considerably less with updated energy products, probably half of what we're paying in electric bill now," Pollard said.
The brand new K-12 building will begin here where the softball field and the tennis courts are and will extend into the grass field behind the practice football field.
Once it's built, they'll will demolish the current high and middle school buildings and turn those into brand new athletic fields.
A state grant will fund about 80 percent of the $48 million project. The remaining $10 million would come from the local ESPLOST tax.
Pollard says the building will provide a safer environment.
"We have a lot of outside movement in our middle and high school building right now and we would not have that in our new building. It would be locked down and secured," Pollard said.
Pulaski County Schools' population totals around 1,300 students.
Pollard says construction for the 18-month project would finish before the beginning of the 2022 school year.
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