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Cherokee High replacement on track for August; board OKs reconstitution of Canton Elementary and surplus plan for old campus
Summary
District leaders said the Cherokee High replacement campus is on schedule for student occupancy Aug. 3 with conditional certificates of occupancy in hand and a public ribbon-cutting on April 28. The board unanimously approved reconstituting Canton Elementary (target SY2028–29) and authorized surplus and sale of the old CHS campus with staged auctions and sealed bids planned through spring 2027.
Cherokee County School District officials told the school board on April 23 that the Cherokee High School replacement campus is complete enough for staff preview events and is scheduled for student occupancy on Aug. 3, 2026, with a public ribbon-cutting set for April 28.
“Conditional certificates of occupancy have been received for the entire campus,” said Mr. Morris, the district capital-outlay presenter, who added that final landscaping and technology and safety work are nearing completion. He said administrative relocation will begin in June, athletics relocation will occur in June–July and staff occupancy is scheduled for July.
The district reported the site package work originally budgeted at $23.5 million came in at $22.8 million; the building package was awarded in 2023 for a base bid of $179 million. The project is also eligible for roughly $33 million in state reimbursement, about $28.4 million of which the district has already received.
Board members pressed staff about traffic and safety near the new campus. After the board described multiple traffic studies and a March 10 dry run that included 55 bus drivers, Canton officials and local law enforcement, board member Chance asked whether a traffic signal had been studied for the area. “I want to renew my request that we really could get a traffic light in there because I think at some place those cars are going to have to stack somewhere,” Chance said, urging the district to pursue the issue with the city.
District staff said they have met with the city manager of Canton and emphasized that school districts cannot install or maintain roadway signalization unilaterally; the board chair and vice chair will continue discussions with city leadership and plan to invite a Canton representative to a future meeting to explain options.
The board also voted unanimously to reconstitute Canton Elementary for the 2028–29 school year after a feasibility study and community input identified it as the most supported reuse of the former CHS site. Mr. Gwyn said the reconstitution timeline assumes design, a November education-SPLOST referendum to authorize funding, contractor authorization in December 2026, and renovations complete by June 2028. The district projects roughly $2.3 million in state facility funding due to facility age but said that additional local funding will be needed.
Concurrently, the board unanimously authorized declaring the current Cherokee High main campus surplus and directed staff to update appraisals and surveys, inventory remaining assets and bring a surplus-auction plan to the board this fall. The district expects a staged surplus auction beginning in October 2026 and a sealed-bid sale process in spring 2027, with proceeds earmarked for workforce-readiness programs at CCSD high schools.
The district said it will continue community engagement on attendance-zone questions and staffing decisions as the timeline advances.
