BOE: No money for EHHS field house repairs

GAINESVILLE - The Hall County School Board dedicated its new Lanier Charter Career Academy Monday night and was also reminded that the septic line backed up and the field house needs replacing at East Hall High School Stadium.

East Hall supporter Chuck Jarrard learned line repairs are underway; as for the field house School Superintendent Will Schofield told him the Board has to approve sales tax revenues for instructional facilities and there's no money available right now in a tight general fund budget.

"They've got to find the funds, I understand that," Jarrard said. "I just want them to focus more on finding those funds."

Schofield said the system spent around $200,000 for a new septic field and did not know that tree roots were plugging the line and causing it to back up.

"We thought we had it fixed and had no idea there were roots in that system and I assume that will be taken care off before this Friday," Schofield said. "You can't use SPLOST money for new field houses. We know it needs to be replaced but the Board has had a hard time the last five years saying how do we lay off teachers at the same we say we're going to spend general fund money to build a field house."

Schofield acknowledged the field house is sub-par and the Board needs to find a way to replace it.

"SPLOST cannot, it has to be instructional space and you can't go to athletic fields and spend money on facilities that are only used for extracurriculars," Schofield said.


A DESTINATION PLACE

The Board's dedication of the Lanier charter Career Academy was highlighted by remarks from Marietta restaurant and bakery owner Johnnie Gabriel, who recalled she got her start by baking cakes at home to earn money during the recession of the 1980's.

"What I appreciate what you are doing for these kids is that you are teaching them about the food service industry early on," Gabriel said. "They are getting a real education; my education came from hard knocks."

The Board set meeting and events pricing and Superintendent Schofield said the fees are extremely reasonable.

"Any time the public has an event here it will give our students an opportunity to participate hands on in the hospitality industry, those fees will be published on our web site," Schofield said. "We think it will be a real destination place, we have toured people from all over the state here and I think we'll see more and more people making the Career Charter Academy a destination for their meetings."