The Cherokee County school district's newest facility scheduled to open, River Ridge High School, is virtually complete, construction supervisors said.
The district hosted the Georgia Council of Educational Facility Planners' chapter meeting and tour of the southeast Cherokee school Thursday.
Workers are in the process of completing remaining punch-list items on the building, said Construction Supervisor Steve Werner.
The building, similar to the Creekview High School prototype, is 318,851 square feet and has 103 classrooms. The $55.3 million project being constructed by Barton Malow Construction Services sits on 97 acres with Mill Creek Middle School. Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax revenues are used to fund new school construction.
River Ridge's ninth grade is currently operating out of Mill Creek. When River Ridge opens in August, the 9th- and 10th-grade students will number between 700 and 800, Werner added.
River Ridge also has a drama room, a band practice room, a chorus room, a video production room, two art rooms, a media center, an auditorium, computer labs, a cafeteria, a gym featuring the school's blue and gold colors, a nurse's station and a career center.
The media center will be equipped with between 30 and 40 computers and, along with classrooms, will have a SMARTboard with an LCD projector attached to the ceiling and is equipped with MediaCAST, an on-demand learning platform.
MediaCAST centralizes media storage and distribution. It places digital content on school servers and allows teachers to access videos and other instructional lessons through laptop computers in their classrooms.
A projector is used to display the information on a screen in the classroom so students can view it. The system allows for on-demand media retrieval, on-demand digital TV channels and viewing morning announcements.
Operations are computer-controlled with mechanical equipment stored in a mezzanine level.
Along with traditional classrooms, the school comes complete with a special education classroom, a health/ occupational classroom, a marketing education classroom, a family/consumer sciences classroom and a public safety classroom complete with a setup to conduct mock trials.
Like Mill Creek, River Ridge will incorporate the use of key cards to access the building. Faculty and staff will be equipped with access cards instead of keys.
To help students navigate the large facility, the district will have directional signage similar to other district schools.
Outside, the school has a football field, a practice field, four tennis courts and a baseball and softball field.
River Ridge Principal Darrell Herring said he was excited about moving into the new facility in August.
"It's fantastic," he said. "You couldn't ask for a better building."
Herring noted his students are also excited to see the building and have asked to take a tour.
"They are dying to come over by the end of the year," he said, adding the students won't see the building until January.
The district's other facilities are also progressing.
"Everything is coming along very well," said Phil Parrott, district construction supervisor.
The classroom addition at R.M. Moore Elementary has been completed and students recently moved into the facility, Parrott said. The facility was originally scheduled to open in August, but the district was able to complete the facility's work before the school year's end.
The new elementary school on Univeter Road near Canton is also making steady progress.
The installation of roofing materials has been completed and the installation of fire alarm, energy management, communications, intercom and security conduits are all underway.
However, the recent rain has slowed the site work and front parking lot and front entrance drive construction was halted due to weather.
Parrott is optimistic that the slight delay won't be a problem for the district. The $17.6 million school, which will have a capacity of 1,250, is being built by Evergreen Construction and is set to open August 2011.
The school's design is similar to the one used for Knox Elementary in Canton. It will have 77 instructional units, a media center, cafetorium, two art rooms, two music rooms, two computer labs, a gym, a mechanical mezzanine in a corridor above the hallways and a family living center for special-needs students.
Outside, the school will have a basketball court, two playgrounds and open green field space.
Final punch list items are also being completed with the district's installation of a new freezer at the central warehouse.
The $1.7 million project was approved by the school board in June and also included making renovations to the district's food services facility.
The freezer is 3,800 square feet, with 2,800 square feet for basic storage and 1,000 square feet for emergency storage. The new freezer will help provide storage space for out-of-service freezers at district schools.
The district's food services department earlier this week moved into the facility.
The same design used for Knox Elementary and the new elementary school under construction on Univeter Road will be used for the Hunt Road site.
Parrott said progress on that facility has been most impacted by the wet and cold weather, but contractors continue making progress on establishing a building pad.
The building, which will sit on about 43 acres, will be 134,824 square feet with the capacity to hold 1,250 students. The building will have 77 instructional units, a mechanical mezzanine above the ceiling and will have a media center, computer labs, a gymnasium and art/music rooms. It's scheduled to open August 2012.
The Ball Ground Elementary replacement facility just broke ground and contractors are in the process of clearing the site, Parrott said. That facility is also scheduled to open in August 2010.
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