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Decatur board weighs trade-offs on Early Childhood Learning Center as cost, green space and city approvals loom
Summary
Board members and the public debated two Early Childhood Learning Center design options: a one‑story plan priced at about $35 million and a two‑story pivot at about $43 million. The board pressed staff on costs, city zoning/variance risks and whether community input was sufficiently incorporated before advancing financing steps.
Decatur — City Schools of Decatur board members spent the bulk of their Aug. 12 work session reviewing the district's comprehensive capital improvement plan and debating two options for a proposed Early Childhood Learning Center (ECLC) on West Trinity Place.
District staff and architects presented a one‑story option (Option A) with an estimated construction cost of about $35 million and a partial two‑story pivot (Option B) estimated at about $43 million. Chief Financial Officer Dr. Lydia Broom said Option A's additional annual debt service would be about $2.3 million over 30 years at an illustrative 5.16% interest rate; Option B's annual cost was presented at roughly $2.8 million at about 5.14%. Broom said those figures are subject to change and that combining new debt with existing district obligations affects the district's SPLOST balance and capital cash available.
Architects and the district framed the ECLC as the first 'domino' in a package of four linked projects that includes Decatur High…
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