Fannin County Board of Education members unanimously voted, Thursday, January 22, to build both a Transportation Facility and a Staff Development Center at the Toccoa Property at a cost not to exceed $9,998,763.
Construction will begin the first week of February and will last approximately 12 months.
The cost of the project can be broken down with $6,438,627 used for the Transportation Facility and $3,791,410 used for the Staff Development Center.
Since both facilities will be built at the same time, the school system will see a savings of $231,274.
The project will be funded using SPLOST funds.
Vice-Chair Terry Bramlett spoke to Transportation Director Denver Foster and former director Benny Long’s hard work at the system’s current bus garage, which no longer meets the needs of the department.
“You and Mr. Long have operated that facility so efficiently and so well for so many years,” he said. “Every time I drive by there in cold weather, and I see those doors open with a bus sticking out the back and your guys having to get in there and bust their knuckles and it’s 17 degrees, I can’t tell you how excited I am about the opportunity to have a facility that matches your integrity and the quality of your program.”
Bramlett also spoke to the need for a new facility to house the central office, the Staff Development Center, stating, “For 16 years I have marveled at the administration and the central office staff operating in that little old house down there bumping elbows to get down the hall. There’s virtually no room for storage, and yet you’ve operated at such a high level of efficiency. I’m so excited about that facility as well.”
The Transportation Facility will include a 8,340 square foot bus maintenance area, a training center, a break room and room for storage among other things.
The Staff Development Center will include a large presentation room for board meetings, a training room, 16 offices, a mailroom, a records room, a break room, reception areas, conference rooms, storage areas and more.
Board member Mike Cole looked to Foster to ensure the planned facility meets his needs.
“I think we pretty well went over, time and time again, to make sure that we were right where we need to be as far as the building and the construction,” Foster said. “We’re in a situation right now where we operate out of a pit, and it’s very limited as far as our abilities, and this is going to put us ahead. I’m pleased with what we’ve selected, and I think it will be a wonderful opportunity to move forward.”
Assistant Superintendent over Facilities and Operations Darren Danner, who has spearheaded the construction project, thanked several school system employees and community members for their help getting the project this far, and Board Chair Chad Galloway recognized Danner’s work, stating, “I do appreciate all the work that you’ve done. You haven’t taken much credit for it. You’ve worked countless hours and countless nights all along. I do appreciate all the work and the money that you’ve saved us. I don’t think that’s been highlighted enough.”
Looking back at what SPLOST funds have allowed the system to do, including the Agricultural and Environmental Sciences Facility build, board member Lewis DeWeese said, “SPLOST has really blessed Fannin County.”