School Board to Discuss Harrison High Renovations

The Cobb Board of Education is scheduled to discuss Wednesday using $14,531,600 in SPLOST III funds for the West Cobb 9th Grade Center addition to and other renovations to the school.

The center will be an add-on to the school in its front parking lot and will be where freshmen will have “much of their core classes consolidated into one area,” school district spokesman Doug Goodwin said. North Cobb and South Cobb high schools have similar centers.

A rendering of the center is attached.

Awarded to Swofford Construction out of Austell, the $14,531,600 is 5 percent over the original project amount of $13,735,521. SPLOST III contingency funds, or money leftover from under-budgeted SPLOST projects, will be used to cover the difference.

The other renovations included in the cost and recommended for the board to vote on are:

• Sports lighting
• Emergency generator replacement
• Corridor flooring replacement
• Site plumbing renovations
• Track repair and resurfacing
• Practice and baseball field renovations
• Theater renovations
• Tank-less water heaters

The scheduled completion date is July 10, 2013.

Also on Wednesday, the board will consider using SPLOST funds to avoid a property tax increase for the third year in a row, according to the Marietta Daily Journal. The $20.3 million from SPLOST II would keep the millage rate at 18.9 mills instead of jumping to 19.9, the newspaper says.

The work session is set to begin at 8:30 a.m. Wednesday at 514 Glover St. in Marietta. The legislative meeting will follow on Thursday, March 22 at 7 p.m.