Editorial: Is Dalton’s new 6/7 grades school a high school in disguise?

Published 7:00 pm Saturday, April 21, 2018

The Dalton Board of Education has approved the floor plans for the new Hammond Creek Middle School and we have taken a virtual tour. The bells and whistles not typically found in a school for sixth- and seventh-graders raise the question — is this spacious 220,000-square-foot building ultimately intended to be a high school?

Consider:

• A 486-seat auditorium, about the size of Dalton High’s, features a control room plus set and costume storage areas.

• A gym plus an auxiliary gym includes space for a weight room and an aerobics/cardio room filled with treadmills.

• A fabrication lab, which typically provides equipment such as 3D printers, adjoins the media center.

• Two wings with “Life Skills” rooms include kitchens.

On several occasions we have used this space to chide the board for lack of transparency in communicating their plans to relieve overcrowding at Dalton Middle and Dalton High schools.

The vaguely worded $50 million bond referendum failed to provide information regarding interest cost or how the money would be spent. The bond structure will force taxpayers to either approve another Education Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (ESPLOST) or face additional property tax increases. The new school will result in a 25 to 30 percent unused capacity at both Dalton High and Dalton Middle, but the connection between relieving hall and cafeteria crowding and academic improvement has not been explained.

Perhaps most disappointing was the board’s attempt to use ESPLOST revenue to purchase property for the new school before the bond referendum vote, although this effort was thwarted by the City Council.

These actions have eroded the community’s trust. School property taxes, currently at 20.5 mills on a 40 percent basis, are projected to increase to 21.865 mills to begin paying interest on the bonds. Additional increases needed to operate and maintain the new school are unknown. The board’s ability to raise the millage rate to 35 mills vs. county systems’ restriction to 20 mills is worrisome — especially since they continue deficit spending despite receiving more money from the state because our community continues to grow poorer.

The new school project appears to be beyond what’s needed to adequately provide for a 6/7 school, and the board’s past actions do not inspire confidence that all their cards are on the table.

That said, we are heartened by the choice of Tim Scott as Dalton’s new superintendent. In his brief time on the job he has shown himself to be data focused, an honest communicator and a good listener. These leadership traits will serve his board and our community well.