Paulding County board hears design update for Elementary School No. 20; site work GMP presented

At the Jan. 28 Paulding County Board of Education meeting, Doug Carey, the district's capital projects director, presented design plans and a proposed site‑work guaranteed maximum price (GMP) for Elementary School No. 20.

Carey said, "The building is is is built today for an FTE capacity of 875," and added the design allows an addition to expand capacity to about 1,200. He told the board the district's "best estimate is coming in about $35,100,000 for the whole project," and the site‑work GMP being presented for site development is $5,978,083.

The presentation outlined the school as a two‑story, roughly 875‑student facility with about 180 parking spaces, a two‑story media center at the building's center, separate parent and bus drop‑off locations, and dedicated areas for music, art and STEM. Carey said the design intentionally places classrooms on one side and louder, community spaces (music/art/STEM) on the other to improve circulation and safety. He also described the plan for a "future addition" on the right side of the footprint to give the district expansion capacity.

The board was told the site‑work phase could begin in February 2025 if approved, with the remainder of the building GMP expected to come back to the board in May. Carey said the targeted opening date is August 2026. "So schedule wise, the site work pending your approval, would be beginning in February of 2025," he said.

Board members asked about traffic and egress. Carey said a traffic study for the adjacent Crossroads Middle School has been completed and that the district has provided that data to its traffic engineer for the elementary school site. On stairway design, he clarified the stairways are interior and will bring occupants down to the first floor for direct egress: "All the stairs you see are fully, heated and air conditioned stairways inside. ... You go directly out from the stair."

Carey also provided a brief update on a related SPLOST project: four 4,100‑square‑foot multipurpose athletic buildings planned for Hiram, North Paulding, Paulding County and South Paulding high schools; the district is preparing a construction manager‑at‑risk contract and expects a GMP in March 2025.

The board received the presentation; staff said the AIA construction contract and the site‑work GMP will be returned for board consideration at a later meeting.

The presentation noted separate budget items — architect fees, furniture/fixtures/equipment, technology and preconstruction services — are handled outside the construction GMP and will be shown as percentages when the full GMP is presented.