In one of the most divisive votes in the last few years, the Coweta County Board of Education decided 4-3 Tuesday night to build a new $1.2 million gym at O.P.Evans Middle School in Newnan.

Board member Harry Mullins brought the board the idea to build the gym from the board's building and grounds committee because the middle school's gym is not sufficient to hold a lot of activities.

“The students have to travel to Arnco-Sargent and the gym has been that way since it was built. We've talked about doing something for 11 years,” he said.

With the vote, the gym should be completed within a year. Funds to build it will come from the school system's nearly $7 million reserve fund, which troubled one school board member.

“Is this the highest and best use of our education dollars?” questioned board member Bill Covington.

Covington wanted the vote tabled until the superintendent could provide the board with a complete list of every project in the school system that will need to be completed in the next few years. He also wanted a lit of programs that needed to be started to improve education in the system.

But Covington's motion to table was defeated, and Mullins, Smith Pass, Chairman Mike Sumner and Beth Wagstaff voted to build the gym.

Pass said the decision was pretty clear-cut for her.

“There's no seating in the gym. There is not a place where the entire student body can gather,” she said.

While the system was able to use reserve funds to fund this capital project, Mullins added the residents in the county are going to have to support continued special sales tax funding for large projects.

“We have to have SPLOST funding, or the kids will lose,” he said.

Back to News Home Page | Back to the top of the page