COLUMBUS, Ga. (WRBL) – Big changes and improvements are on the way for Muscogee County Schools. The school district plans for multiple construction projects to be completed when students return in the Fall.
Chief Operations and Facilities Officer for the Muscogee County School District, Travis Anderson, highlighted these upgrades at the May 9 School Board meeting, some of which come with additional costs due to inflation.
Construction is underway at several high schools. Come Fall 2022, student athletes will have brand new weight rooms at Carver, Columbus High, and Northside High School. Jordan Vocational High School, soon to be called Jordan High School College and Career Academy, is getting a big upgrade this summer with the replacement of multiple air conditioning systems. Jordan is also the process of making the campus more accessible with the installation of ramps and elevators.
Anderson credits taxpayers for making the projects possible.
“We value engineering and making sure that we are always being as creative and responsible as possible of taxpayers dollars and we thank our tax payers and for their support as we continue to build and improve upon the assets in our district.”
Travis Anderson – Chief Operations and Facilities Officer for the Muscogee County School District
All these projects are scheduled to be completed Summer and Fall 2022, but district officials have been very transparent about the challenges they face, like delays in shipping and receiving of materials and equipment.
Aside from delays, the other issue is inflation. Projects that have drastic differences in cost will now have to be reevaluated and brought back to the school board. These projects are all funded by E-SPLOST dollars a 1% tax increase passed in 2015 and again in 2021.