Royston Businessman Upset With School Board’s Plan to Move Royston Elementary

Royston City officials say they will continue to work to make sure Royston Elementary School stays in Royston.

At their meeting Tuesday night, the Royston City Council and Mayor David Jordan heard from local businessman Anderson Dilworth.

Dilworth said he is concerned about the Franklin County School Board’s plan to tear down the current elementary school and build a new school outside the City limits.

Under a plan approved by the Franklin County School Board, both Royston Elementary and Carnesville Primary Schools will be taken offline in 2018, and a new Royston Elementary School will be built in 2021.

Once this eSPLOST is approved, the School Board will let the State know of their plan and the State will give the school system another $2-million towards that plan.

The problem, according to mayor David Jordan is the School Board won’t say where the new school will be built.

“We can’t get a confirmation of what they plan to do,” Jordan said. “There’s a plan to build a whole new school outside the City, and the concern we have is, is this going to be outside the city, but we can’t a guarantee about anything. There is a concern from local merchants. They were talking about the eSPLOST but this is a decision by the School Board and we think it would be a disaster to go forward with a plan that might mean it would move the school outside the city limits.”

Jordan says the City has been working for several years to provide land for a new elementary school inside the city limits.

“We’ve heard different things from the School Board. We proposed to give them eight acres adjacent to the current school to build a new school and tear down whatever buildings they want to remove,” Jordan explained. “Several months ago, we had the property surveyed. We told them we would do everything we could to work with them so they could build back on the existing location.”

The City Council and Mayor are also upset with comments they say some school board members made about the location of the current Royston Elementary School – that it’s in a bad neighborhood.

Councilman Keith Turman lives in that neighborhood and says there is no crime there.

Jordan and the City Council contend the town needs a centralized school so children from all neighborhoods can attend and the Royston Police can respond to any issues.

Voters are now deciding whether to pass the eSPLOST, which Jordan said will start the timeline for the closing of Royston Elementary and Carnesville Primary in five years.

Jordan said he cannot support the current eSPLOST if it means his town will lose its elementary school.