JCSS Proposes Pre-K Through 12th Grade Project On Hwy 332, Boone Road

The Jackson County School System presented a plan to the Board of Education during the Thursday night Work Session that, if approved, would see three new schools constructed on the corner of Hwy. 332 and Boone Road to accommodate students in Pre-Kindergarten through 12th grade. 

The system completed its purchase of the property in January of 2024. Since the acquisition, the system has been in communication with county and state government officials about improving the road infrastructure in the area. 

The construction of the new facilities is first dependent on the renewal of the existing one cent sales tax — Education Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (E-SPLOST) — and a passing vote on a General Obligation Bond in March 2025. A General Obligation Bond allows the school system to borrow the necessary money to complete the construction.

Pending the passing of the General Obligation Bond in March, the Board of Education would have to vote to authorize the construction of the new schools. 

The Jackson County School System has opened two new schools in the past two years, without the need of a G.O. Bond. The system opened Legacy Knoll Middle School in August of 2023 and Heroes Elementary School this past August. The system funded those two schools, a combined total of nearly $80 million, with the use of E-SPLOST, State Capital Outlay and General Funds. All of this was done while the Board of Education lowered the system’s millage rate to its lowest rate in over 20 years. 

The Jackson County School System will complete payments on a 2012 series bond in March of 2025. That bond, which originated in 2005, allowed the system to construct East Jackson High School, South Jackson Elementary School and Gum Springs Elementary School. The system will complete the payments for the 2019 series bond that funded the construction for the relocation of Jackson County High School in March of 2032.