SAVANNAH, Ga. (WSAV) – Your voice could help shape the future of local schools. Savannah-Chatham County school leaders are looking for hundreds of millions of dollars to jumpstart several improvement projects.
Later on Tuesday, the district will host a meeting for Derenne Middle and Hodge Elementary schools on how to change the way these schools are organized and make them better for kids to learn.
Both schools will stay open for the 2025 to 2026 school year. But the meeting is all about looking ahead.
The Savannah-Chatham County Public Schools System (SCCPSS) is discussing the continuation of the ESPLOST (Education Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax), a penny sales tax funding school projects. The district will share early ideas about possible school reconfigurations, upgrades and how ESPLOST funding could transform these campuses over the next few years.
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In addition to providing modern learning spaces, schools could be reconfigured to adjust attendance boundaries and school capacity levels.
"When you look at the growth out there, the construction, and the units that are coming in, and the projections for new families - we have to be taking action right now," said Kurt Hetager, the Chief Public Affairs and Administrative Services Officer for SCCPSS.
"We are talking about a new high school in western Chatham County. We are talking about what a K-8 school in western Chatham County would look like. We are talking about early childhood centers in western Chatham County," he continued. "It all comes together in the big picture of the ESPLOST V construction program."
Hetager said that current project needs could total close to $1 billion, but the actual funding expected from ESPLOST over five years is $400-500 million, making the total project list unrealistic at that amount.
"You have to remember, we are a large school system. We employ 5,600 individuals, 36,000 students are served and any given day, our facilities group is managing upwards of 65 facilities across Chatham County. And all these facilities need maintenance," explained Hetager.
After analyzing the needs, the district aims to narrow the list to around $700 million, based on data-driven decisions and prioritizing projects that extend the life cycle of facilities.
"$700 million is likely in line with the actual need in what we are going to do for our full project list... it's about the children. It is about ensuring that they have choice-filled lives, and they are in facilities that provide the very best tools for them to succeed," said Hetager.
School leaders said that the major project focuses that will be chosen include:
- New high school in Western Chatham County.
- Reconfigured K-8 schools to enhance early childhood education.
- Improvements and expansions in areas with growing populations, like New Hampstead and Pooler Elementary (a 75-year-old facility)
Tuesday's meeting kicks off at 6 p.m. at Beach High School. If you can't make it – there are other meetings being held this week:
- Tuesday 6 p.m @ Beach High about Derenne & Hodge
- Wednesday 6 p.m. @ West Chatham Middle
- Thursday 6 p.m. @ Pooler Elementary”
It should be noted that the ESPLOST is not a new tax but a continuation of an existing penny sales tax.
"We want to remind individuals out there that ESPLOST is not a new tax," said Hetager. "What we are talking about is the continuation of an existing penny sales tax. So, anyone that comes to Chatham County, that visits Chatham County, and who shops or stays here, they're contributing to that one cents penny sales tax."
If approved, construction could begin in three to five years.