APS files permits to build North Atlanta High School’s new campus.
Atlanta Public Schools (APS) is moving forward with its plan to build a new high school on Northside Drive.
APS purchased a 56-acre property, at 4111 Northside Parkway, for the construction of North Atlanta High school’s new campus, according to Atlanta Public School’s website. North Atlanta High School is located about 3.6 miles from its new location.
Atlanta Public Schools filed several permits with City of Atlanta Thursday to develop land where the school will be located and to build an addition to an existing structure at the site, formerly used as IBM’s Atlanta operations.
Construction on the 383,000-square-foot school will cost an estimated $74 million, according to one permit filed Thursday.
The current North Atlanta campus completed a $30 million renovation last spring, according to APS’s website. That campus is slated to become a middle school once the new high school construction is complete.
North Atlanta High School’s first classes at the new campus are scheduled to begin August 2013.
29 Responses
Maybe they will all get I-pads too. Meanwhile in the rest of Atlanta that is not in the wealthiest zip codes…
You should clarify a bit more information: the rendering you show is of the current building’s renovations not of the new North Atlanta High School’s renovations to the IBM buildings. It would be nice if you mentioned the firms working on these projects as well as I know the new North Atlanta High School project involves local firms.
hi tyler, thanks for your feedback. you are correct. the photo is of the current campus’ renovation. we’ll clarify in the caption.
–cjs
Your sales tax dollars at work. We don’t need to build a brand new high school down the street from a school that just had $30M worth of improvements done to it last year. We (voters) never should have extended the school SPLOST. HUGE MISTAKE!
Ummm, to Kwood Resident, I live in Riverside in NW Atlanta and I wouldn’t consider my neighborhood wealthy by any means, but we are in the North Atlanta High district. There are some pretty nice schools down in your area. Carver is one that comes to mind among others.
@David K. – overcrowding is a major (MAJOR) issue in the North Atlanta district. We have one high school and one middle school. The 30 million dollar renovation that took place at the current North Atlanta High will serve the middle school students well when it becomes a middle school.
Kwood…..Your/Our soon to be new high school, Maynard Jackson, is about to get a $36 some million dollar renovation. The money is being spent around.
@David K, “we” assumes everyone. Please don’t lump me in with the other ignorant voters that agreed to give the buffoons more money to waste!
30327 Zip code is one of the wealthiest zip codes in the nation (#20 per Blumberg). Glad you are in that school district CJ. You are lucky. I live in Kirkwood. Our schools by far are not the worst, just not really a comparison with what is going on in the northern areas of Atlanta where funding appears to be diverted. I can understand their argument that they pay a lot in taxes so why not have great schools, but if you are part of the COA then the idea is to spreadh the tax dollars within the communities who may not have the same median HH income. Why not shift more funding to growing urban area and improve your existing schools so more people move to the urban core?
David K, how is this a waste? The expansion was necessary! APS is not closing down the other school they spent the money on already, it will continue to be used for its intended purpose of educating students.
Are you sure the $74M is entirely for construction and renovation of the current site?
My understanding is that the land acquisition was in the $40M-$50M range.
I would imagine the $74M sum would be inclusive of the land cost as well.
hi scott in va. highlands, the $74 million figure was the only one listed in the permits — it comes from the land development one so your assumption is probably correct.
–cjs
What a colossal waste of tax dollars in a recession. Use what you have. I, for one, am frankly tired of my tax dollars going to an undeserving public school system. Particularly since i have never used the public school system, nor had any family members in Atlanta use it either.
@David K:
You basically just said: “We dont need to build a brand new high school because we just spent 30M to renovate what will be a middle school.” That makes a lot of sense. We dont need a high school since we just spent money getting a middle school ready…
Kwood: There is money being spent to renovate other APS schools also, including in East Atlanta.. Attendance in NE Atlanta has increased heavily recently (maybe less rich people with money to send kids to private schools?), and there is a need for a new school in the area.
KWood;
Kirkwood is zoned for Grady High, which is arguably the best APS school (or at least in the top two). so I dont think you have a lot of room to complain about APS ignoring you.
@David K…when the new school gets done maybe you can write a Yelp review of the cafeteria!
They’re renovating the existing IBM building, not constructing a new school. The only new construction is for athletic fields and I think a theatre.
jalson: You are a prick. So what that you didn’t use the school system, it is there for those that choose/have to use it. Be fortunate that your parents could afford a private school and had that option.
However, there is nothing wrong with North Atlanta High School. Spending money on children is something I’m glad our tax dollars go towards, instead of the other absurd things our government chooses to spend tax dollars on(welfare, 99 weeks of unemployment, other dependency programs). I’m in favor of spending as much as is reasonably necessary to give our kids the best and brightest future possible. The learning environment (building, technology, etc) is key to their success.
APS is run by retards and races hustlers. What we really need to do is get the cotton plantation going again over on Bolton and put them in the fields where they belong. Once they prove they can behave then we consider whether or not to let them learn to read.
APS is just a welfare program that manages to spend more money per student then anyone else in the state and yet constantly embezzle it with their thug cohorts. 13 Principals in 25 years? This is not a school its a cattle call.
My big issue with the 1% sales tax for school construction doesn’t really have to do with waste. It’s more about priorities. We (as in, anyone who buys taxable goods in the City of Atlanta) have been paying an extra 1% for quite a while. At first it was to fund special projects and such that wouldn’t have normally been financed with their regular budget. I think APS needs to go back to paying for school construction the way they did it for decades prior.
It’s infuriating to me that despite having the best, most modern and well equipped facilities they still can’t seem to educate students… or get them to graduate.
They’ve built a lot of really pretty buildings, stadiums, and district offices over the last few years. I also pay property taxes and the school millage rate far exceeds everything else. I’m sick of paying extra because they can’t prioritize their spending.
David K, please enlighten us to the exact dollar cost that would be right for building a new school in Buckhead? It doesn’t have to be a high school, it could be a new middle school since that’s what the old high school was refurbished to become. Please David, we’d like to know what is the correct cost so we know just how outraged to be. Or does being an assistant in an apartment complex’s rental office and selling prepaid legal services not qualify one to determine construction cost of a school building? Just because people on the circuit tell you you’re smart doesn’t make it so, it just means they want something from you. Don’t let it go to your pretty head.
I don’t see what the big deal is? Looking at the data, it is no surprise enrollment in Buckhead area public schools have been increasing at a faster rate than any other area of Atlanta. A new high school and middle school is needed… by building a new high school they can convert the old one to a new middle school.
Drake –
I have no idea what an appropriate amount would be. As you stated, I am not qualified to determine such things. The current $74 million figure seems just fine to me. I just don’t think sales taxes should be used to pay for it.
PS: Sorry for whatever I did to make you so angry. I assume it must have taken place several years ago based on how you described me. “Drake” doesn’t ring a bell and your comments are otherwise anonymous, so I’m not sure how to respond other than with an apology.
I’m always a bit surprised how few kids in that neighborhood actually attend the public high school.
To say this is a waste of tax dollars just for rich kids is ridiculous. Most kids that live in Buckhead and certainly the 30327 zip code attend private school for high school. Westminster, Lovett, Pace Academy, Marist, Holy Innocents……….. those are the major ones but the list goes on. The Atlanta area has some of the best private schools in the country because the local public school system has a bad track record and there is a large group of people that have the money to put their kids through private school. In recent years however enrollment in Buckhead public schools has exploded and they need more space. Furthermore, this is not the only APS school to get a major renovation. Believe it or not, many of the other high and middle schools in the less expensive and coveted neighborhoods of the city have undergone expensive renovations and have state of the art facilities just like the one planned for the new North Atlanta High School. As a Buckhead resident that has recently graduated from North Atlanta High, it is nice to see more locals attend our public high school. It was just a few years ago that APS stopped busing in kids from other parts of town to go to North Atlanta. For a public school to be great it must have support from it’s local community.
“I’m sick of paying extra because they can’t prioritize their spending.”
Guuurl, you gotta allow for Brenda Muhammed and LaChandra D. Butler Burks car allowance.
The new school looks great and I wonder with they allow us nonprofits and other businesses to partner to improve the performing arts program.
great looking school, i wonder are they acceoting partner to work with in the performing arts dept.