The referendum
Shall the City of Chickamauga issue general obligation bonds in an aggregate principal amount not to exceed $2,500,000 to pay the cost, in whole or in part, of (i) providing the funds necessary for demolition, site work and upgrades in conjunction with the construction and equipping of a new high school which will replace the existing school in the City of Chickamauga, and (ii) paying the expenses incident thereto?
CHICKAMAUGA, Ga. – Residents won’t see a rebuilt Gordon Lee High School unless they approve a loan in two weeks.
The Chickamauga City School Board held a public meeting Tuesday evening to explain why they are asking voters to approve a $2.5 million bond issue May 24. Superintendent Melody Day said the school system is scheduled to receive about $12 million from the Georgia Department of Education to rebuild the 86-year-old high school.
As part of the deal, the school system itself would set aside about five years’ worth of sales tax revenue, which Day said would come out to about $3.9 million. The school board is prepared to do that, but they need extra money to one day demolish the current school building, abate asbestos and pave a new parking lot.
Day said the school system doesn’t know exactly how much those three things will cost, just that the state government will not fund that element of the process. In the May 24 vote, residents will decide whether to approve up to $2.5 million worth of bonds.