New Claxton school to be done by 2027
Construction on the new Claxton Elementary School is expected to be finished by February 2027.
Anderson County Director of Schools Tim Parrott gave details about the new school and its calendar at the Thursday, March 6, school board meeting.
The new school will be at the former Crossroads Christ Fellowship Church site at 105 Fellowship Lane, replacing a school at 2218 Clinton Highway.
“Claxton community is a vital part of Anderson County; it deserves a school that meets the needs of every student in that district,” Parrott said, later adding that he grew up in that area.
The start date of construction will be April 1, but the groundbreaking ceremony will be at 3 p.m. April 2, Parrott said.
“It really upsets me when somebody says the only reason we’re building this school is Dr. Parrott wants his name on a building,” he said.
He said earlier this month that the architecture firm MBI is working with contractor Merit Construction to decide on any cost-cutting changes to the design, which they’re hoping will cost about $27.6 million.
Parrott said the school system does not plan to raise taxes to pay for it.
He explained in depth the reasons for wanting a new school, the ways the county will pay for it, and the steps that have been taken.
He said a school building affects the success of the students.
“If you’ve ever been in a classroom when it’s cold, drafty or there’s a bucket over in the corner when it’s leaking, or the bathrooms don’t work, you deal with that and it takes away from the learning environment,” he said.
He said he’d heard someone ask why he didn’t update the present school. But he listed several problems with it: buildings that aren’t accessible for people with disabilities; structural, electrical and water issues; and lack of sufficient parking.
“We have a classroom that, sometimes it’s a good classroom, sometimes it’s a pond,” he said of the Claxton School.
He also said a plumbing company has to come out about every two weeks to clean out pipes.
Parrott said pending road construction will take a nearby road “right up plumb to the door of the cafeteria” of the old building.
The earliest building on the site dates to 1913.
Parrott said it would cost as much to update the old school as it would to build a new one.
The existing Crossroads Christ Fellowship building on the site is 20,000 square feet, and will hold the new school’s gym and cafeteria.
Contractors have already cleared the interior of that building, while leaving the exterior walls mostly in place.
However, the school system will add another adjoining building of about 64,000 square feet to hold the new school’s classrooms and other facilities, making the total new school area 84,000 square feet.
Also due to traffic concerns, the school will have a new entrance.
The county sold the Life Development Center land in Oak Ridge to get funds to buy land for a driveway connecting to Raccoon Valley Road, which Parrott estimated at $500,000.
“It is amazing how things fall in place,” he said, regarding that sale.
Parrott spoke in detail about the other funding for the new school, which he said would neither come from a tax increase nor any academic programs.
He listed various funds to pay for the project.
A bond issue will be for $20 million. The school system is paying almost all elementary debt service, Parrott said.
The present payment is $1,730,512.
The school system estimates the sale of the old Claxton School property will bring $3.5 to $4 million.
Money from the regular budget over three years will be $1 million.
A capital project fund over three years will provide $3 million.
The general-purpose school fund will offer $2 million over three years and $10,739,372 as of March 25, he said.
