DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — DeKalb County school board members approved more than a dozen E-SPLOST measures for the district on Monday.
"This is a win for the community and a win for the children," said DeKalb Schools chief operating officer Erick Hofstetter. "We're very excited because there are several projects now approved that we now can fund, move forward and start renovating more of our schools over the next three years."
The board approved a variety of projects, including a new addition and modernizations at Cross Keys High School, a new middle and high school at Sequoyah and a new elementary school at Dresden.
Hofstetter said the hope is that they'll be completed by 2027.
"I'm very grateful for the board and their support, and we look forward to improving these learning environments moving forward for these communities," he said. "It's an aggressive goal."
However, several projects were scrapped on Monday to make that possible -- especially with rising construction costs.
"Depending on which report you read, we're looking at about 40% over the last four years. So, obviously, that dollar doesn't buy what it used to buy," he said. "We have to then readjust. There's only so much money coming in."
Hofstetter said the district won't be pursuing a new elementary school in the Chamblee-Dunwoody area nor a new Cross Keys Middle School.
"The elementary school was planned several years ago, somewhere around 2018 due to enrollment trends at that time. Since then, enrollment has shifted, and we no longer see the need for an elementary school at this point in time," he said. "We do not currently have the data to support building an additional [Cross Keys Middle School] at this time, but we'll continue to evaluate and adjust as we need to moving forward."
Some board members expressed concern over the precedent these decisions could set and whether they should continue on with some of the projects.
For example, school board member Whitney McGinniss expressed fears about how money plays out in the bigger picture.
"Part of the reason I don't want to move forward with signing a contract for Cross Keys or Sequoyah at this juncture is that I fear we may get into a similar situation where it actually costs us more money in the long run," McGinniss said.
And school board member Anna Hill explained concerns about not working on projects due to increased costs.
"I think we set a dangerous precedent when we start saying, well, costs have gone up, and therefore, we're not going to do this school," Hill stated. "I have brought this up many, many, many times, and it keeps coming back. And I believe maybe that is the case."
No parents addressed the E-SPLOST projects during the public comment portion of Monday night's meeting.