Ground broken for school's transportation, staff center
Chilly weather couldn’t keep members of the Fannin County Board of Education, Fannin County School System district leadership and construction representatives from officially breaking ground on the school system’s new Transportation Facility and Staff Development Center Thursday, February 4.
During the groundbreaking ceremony, Superintendent Dr. Michael Gwatney looked back to the start of his work as superintendent when district leadership recognized the importance of looking to the future, but struggled to find the right property to house the facilities.
“We searched high and low, and we found various locations that would be a suitable piece of property for a transportation facility,” Gwatney said. “None of them really checked all of the boxes though. We couldn’t really find property that had adequate access to facilities and was reasonably located in a place in the county that would make sense for our drivers. We searched and we searched, and then, after a great deal of prayer, this opportunity right here was presented to us. I’d be remiss not to recognize Fannin County government, especially then Commissioner Stan Helton and his role in allowing us to purchase this property.”
Transportation Director Denver Foster thanked everyone for their work in providing the Transportation Department with a new facility that will meet their needs.
“I’ve got a team of folks that are responsible for about 1,250 children everyday to get them back and forth safely, and this facility is going to make that a little bit easier for us,” Foster said. “Currently, we’re in a facility that is way too small, and we’ve made do. My thing all along is if the students need something, let’s put them first, but we do need a facility. That’s where we’re at. … I look forward to seeing the result. I think it’s an exciting time for us, and we’re moving ahead.”
Members of the Board of Education were excited to see the start of the project they unanimously voted to approve.
“It thrills us to be able to provide you all with a facility that, hopefully, will be able to come close to matching the excellence of your work,” Board of Education Vice-Chair Terry Bramlett said. “He (Foster) talked about making due in that little bus facility that the buses won’t even fit in. I would like to point out that while making due, he won Top Mechanic in the State of Georgia several times, and we were the only Blue Star Certified Garage in the state of Georgia for awhile in that limited facility.”
While several people in attendance spoke to the hard work Assistant Superintendent of Facilities and Operations Darren Danner has put into getting the project to this point, Danner expressed his appreciation for everyone else involved in the project including every department head.
“The goal is that there’s not going to be any changes from this moment forward,” Danner said. “If there’s going to be changes its because we have unsuitable soil or something like that, because every director and everybody that’s here with the school system has had input on this, and I greatly appreciate you.”
The construction project, which was approved by the board January 22, is projected to take approximately 12 months to complete.
The property is located off Highway 76 across from Marina Drive in Blue Ridge.
“If you look at a map of Fannin County, we’re nearly in the center,” Gwatney said. “This is beautifully located right here.”