Dacula Students Would Benefit from Classroom Construction, Technology Upgrades if School Sales Tax is Extended
Students in the Dacula area will see some real improvements to their school buildings if voters on Nov. 8 approve the extension of the penny sales tax for education.
The construction program aims to keep pace with the area’s astounding growth rate.
More than 6,800 homes have been built in the past decade in the Dacula ZIP code, 30019, according to the demographic website www.citydata.com. More than 5,200 homes were occupied by married couples, and they care for more than 6,500 children.
The school system wants to address the needs of students in this growing community, said Sean Murphy, a Norcross business owner and father who’s serving as co-chair of the Gwinnett Kids County campaign.
“The school system is looking to build facilities in areas where they are absolutely critical,” Murphy said.
“The goal is to give kids a positive place to learn,” Murphy said.
Here’s a snapshot of the construction program that’s planned in the Dacula community if the sales tax for education is extended on Nov. 8:
- Dacula High – A/C in the gym; reroofing; energy efficiency upgrades.
- Dacula Middle – A/C in the gym and kitchen; energy efficiency upgrades.
- Alcova Elementary – 20 classroom addition; A/C in the gym and kitchen; HVAC improvements; energy efficiency upgrades.
- Dacula Elementary – A/C in the gym; energy efficiency upgrades.
- Mulberry Elementary – A/C in the gym.
Students who attend the Buice School also will benefit from construction upgrades if the sales tax is extended. These improvements are planned to the school in Sugar Hill that serves children with special needs in pre-K and kindergarten.
Here are the upgrades planned at Buice:
- A/C in the gym and kitchen; energy efficiency upgrades.
Murphy said the improvements to the actual school houses is important to him.
“As a father, I want to make sure the kids have access to the best learning environment,” Murphy said. “Look at the improvements being planned for the elementary schools, middle schools and high schools – getting air conditioning in the gyms and kitchens is a real need that we have.”
Sweeping improvements are planned to the technology program, if voters on Nov. 8 extend the sales tax for education.
A future column will look at those more closely. But for now, here’s a snapshot of the technology upgrade that’s envisioned for schools in the Dacula community and all of Gwinnett County.
The upgrades will vary by school and include:
- Teacher latops.
- Student research stations.
- Network printers, projectors, screens.
- Wireless notebook carts.
- Computer labs.
- Media center and school video broadcast equipment.
- Network infrastructure improvements.
- Increased wireless access.
North Georgia Weather
8:42 am on Saturday, October 22, 2011
What people don't realize is that for many of these kids, school, for all practical purposes, is their home. It's where they go for what might be their only two meals (for many those are free meals) of the day, its where they go to get a hug, it's where they go to get warm or cool off.
The environment you learn is is an important factor in how well kids learn. Proper heating/cooling/ventilation is very important in maintaining a comfortable learning environment. Our school is one of the older schools in Gwinnett being built in 1973 and is in need of some renovations to keep it up. The outside hasn't been painted in 10 years so it's starting to look a little rough. Our custodians do an excellent job in keeping it looking great, but there is only so much you can do sometimes. Our head custodian has even gone as far as buying his own paint to help keep things fresh.
The technology upgrades are about 50% of the budget. Everything is going web based in terms of applications. Wireless access, while already available in the schools, is being enhanced to allow many types of devices to connect. Eventually students will be able to bring their own wireless devices and use those for classroom learning.
There will be more online educational resources to supplement or even replace books. Books are a tremendous expense for the school system and they are actively exploring ways to replace books with electronic versions.
M.K. Osborne
5:13 pm on Saturday, October 22, 2011
Its a true statement that the only parental figures some kids have are through the school ,what you dont see or measure is the amount of kids that make the decision to break the chains of a destructive home life because they were able to see that there is hope and postive goals that produce good rewards. They get this training in Gwinnett County Schools ,They do make a difference.
Alice O'Lenick
2:10 pm on Monday, October 24, 2011
Gwinnett Schools are great but adding to school buildings have nothing to do with the children's education. Do you realize we just put a 4 story addition onto Dacula High School and it is EMPTY because we built 2 new high schools that took from the DHS population. Enough is enough the penny sales tax for schools has been around since the early 90's, the money was intended for construction only. Properly manage and budget your money. No more taxes.
R++ - One of the famous "Dacula Crew"
12:29 am on Thursday, October 27, 2011
I'm glad we stopped discussing AC ... (smiles)
We are too far behind and will never catch up until a NEW source of revenue is developed or expanded, so let's let Gwinnett get a piece of this action. No reason we cant have a FOURTH right here. May cover light rail too.
(Source AJC)
"Three casinos in metro Atlanta, Savannah and Jekyll Island, equipped with 10,000 video lottery terminals, could generate nearly $1 billion a year for the state as quickly as 2014, according to a daring, 84-page report requested and received by the Georgia Lottery Commission."
"It's where they go for what might be their only two meals (for many those are free meals)" But in the interim, by all means lets keep araisin those sales taxes, it can't have any impact at all on families feeding their own or providing other life needs.
R++ - One of the famous "Dacula Crew"
12:31 am on Thursday, October 27, 2011
WE could levy a whole assortment of facility specific taxes paid only by gamblers - talk about a win-win
R++ - One of the famous "Dacula Crew"
4:05 pm on Wednesday, November 2, 2011
The school system is now PAYING telephone solicitors to contact citizens in the county and request voting support for ESPLOST, I just got off the phone with a 1800 number combination robo/ live rep call. So the school system will fail without the vote?
I darn sure didn’t commit tax dollars to be cold called – spend that funding on the children. This is all about the businesses hoping to get YOUR dollars and using children for blackmail? We have arrived; we are an URBAN environment for sure now. FULTON county here we come! Vote NO! Children are NOT a business profit center.
Alice O'Lenick
5:39 pm on Wednesday, November 2, 2011
I agree with R - why are my tax dollars going to pay for phone solicitation? Just paid my property tax bill the education tax was 4 times the county tax. Stop building and start educating.