1. Secondary Facilities Project
Dalton Public Schools

2. Meeting the Needs of Students with Appropriate Facilities
Why Consider Additional Secondary Facilities?
Meeting the Needs of Students with Appropriate Facilities
Historic Enrollment by School

3. Meeting the Needs of Students with Appropriate Facilities
Why Consider Additional Secondary Facilities?
Meeting the Needs of Students with Appropriate Facilities
Enrollment Projections by School

4. Meeting the Needs of Students with Appropriate Facilities
Why Consider Additional Secondary Facilities?
Meeting the Needs of Students with Appropriate Facilities
Enrollment and Capacity Comparisons

5. Historic Facilities Timeline
The Inevitable Need
1977
2001
2002
2003
2006
2009
2009
2011
2012
2015
Dalton
High School
Park Creek
School
Dalton Middle
School
City
Park School
Relocated to current facility
Blue Ridge
School
Additions at BR, BW,
DMS & PC
MIHS Opens at Morris Street
Additions at
Dalton High
MIHS
Moves To
Fort
Hill
Additions at
Dalton Middle
*Dates of Certificate of Occupancy according to the Georgia State Fire Marshall

6. Doing What is Right for All Students
The Proposed Solution
Doing What is Right for All Students
New 6-12 School
1400 Capacity

7. Solving the Challenge
The Benefits and Opportunities of a New 6-12 School
Smaller Secondary Schools
Cost Effective
Room for Continuing Growth in Enrollment and Programs
School
Enrollment
New 6-12
1400
600 MS, 800 HS
Dalton Middle
1200
Dalton High
Build 1 School vs
Build 2 Schools
Academic Offerings
CTAE Offerings Extracurriculars
Provides Opportunity for Lower Class Size
Provides Opportunity for Secondary Schools to Participate in Local Region
Should operational funding become available
Less Travel, Less Academic Disruption for Students

8. Solving the Challenge
The Benefits and Opportunities of a New 6-12 School
Research-Based Findings
Smaller Schools
6-12 School Benefits
Provide a better experience for all students,
Increase students’ connectedness to school which is critical especially for students in poverty,
Provide increased opportunities for students to participate in extra-curriculars,
Position the district to go to smaller class size if funding becomes available, and
Create a close-knit family culture among teachers and families.
Eliminates the transition between 8th and 9th grade that can negatively impact academic performance for some students,
Provides opportunity for teachers/staff to develop individual relationships with students,
Encourages more collaboration and vertical alignment between and among teachers,
Provides students real opportunities to earn credit earlier, and
Provides better longitudinal data on students.

9. The Benefits and Opportunities of a New 6-12 School
Solving the Challenge
The Benefits and Opportunities of a New 6-12 School
Programming
New 6-12
Dalton High
JROTC Program
Healthcare Pathway
Translation Pathway
New Chem-Tech Pathway
Electronic Music
Digital Media
International Baccalaureate
Engineering
Manufacturing
Culinary Arts
Horticulture
Graphic Design
Video/TV Production

10. How Much Will It Cost? Total Project Costs $70 – $91.1 million*
Facility & Technology $60.1 million
Site $9.9 – $27.3 million
Athletic Fields $3.7 million
*Could be reduced should the district find community partners to share in the costs

11. Were Any Other Options Considered?
Historical Perspective
Prior to 2013
Board and administration reviewed 39 options before deciding that increasing the size of DMS would address expected enrollment growth.
Board appointed Study Group led by Tommy Boggs.
Researched and evaluated 20 options.
Board accepted Study Group’s report and continued work to refine options. Reviewed 7 options and 7 sites

12. Other Options Considered
Criteria
Add New 6-12
Reconfigure to PreK-4, One 5-6, One 7-8, Add New 9-12
Add on to Existing Middle & High Schools
Add New Middle & New High
Add New 6-12 & Reconfigure DHS & DMS to 6-12
Do Nothing
Smaller Middle
Smaller
Larger 5 - 8
Larger
Smaller High
Appropriate Facility for Morris
Yes No
Academic Opportunities & Student Leadership
More
Less
Transitions
Less for Some
Same
Extracuriculars & Athletics
Unify Elementary Students at Secondary Level
Divide
Divide High School
Impact on Number of Students & Staff
Some
More than Half
None
Half
Cost
Medium
Low
High

13. Financing Options Through City
How Will We Pay For It?
Financing Options Through City
Bonded Indebtedness
30-year Bond
Revenue Bond
Requires Financial Committee Approval
Requires City Council Approval
Requires Building Authority Approval Or
General Obligation Bond
Requires Financial Committee Approval
Requires City Council Approval
Requires Approval by Referendum of City Voters

14. How Will We Pay For It? What about Using Operating Funds? $1.2 million
Annual Operating Expense for New Facility
Including additional positions, utilities and expenses
30-year Bonds
$1.2 million
Current Millage Rate and Operating Budget cannot absorb the additional cost of bonded indebtedness and interest as well as the annual operating costs.
ESPLOST funds alone will not be sufficient to pay bonded indebtedness
and interest.
30-year Bonds

15. Investment in the Future
Millage Increase
ESPLOST
Combination
Estimated combined millage increase of between
1.41 – 1.77 mills
($4.8 M – $6 M) to fully fund debt, interest and operating expenses
Estimated proceeds from 5-year ESPLOST is $5.5 million annually which could be used to pay a portion of debt and interest
Ideally, utilize possible combination of millage increase and ESPLOST proceeds
Millage Increase on $100,000 Valuation
$141 - $177 annually
$12 - $15 monthly
$4.5 million = to pay debt
+ $1.2 million – operating costs
$5.7 million
ESPLOST Proceeds $5.5 M
Debt payment $2.5 M
Ongoing capital needs $3.0 M
ESPLOST-Debt $2.5 M
Millage-Debt $2.3 M
Millage-Operating $1.2 M
Revised 4/20/15

16. #91 #81 District Stewardship Historical Perspective In In Georgia
Local Property Taxes in Relation
to Millage Rate
#91 In
Georgia
Per Pupil
Revenues
#81 In
Georgia
Per Pupil
Expenditures
A community’s effort and ability to support education is based on its taxable wealth not just the millage rate
Because the total tax digest value of each community isn’t readily available, the best metric for comparing (or ranking) school district’s finances is by per pupil expenditures and per pupil revenues.

17. Timeline for Development, Financing and Construction
Estimated Completion
years
June, 2015
Phase 1
1 - 2 years
Phase 2
years
Phase 3
0 - 2 years
Board Vote of Approval
Facility Design, Site Acquisition & Development, Financing
Construction
Transition to Full Utilization
Opening of School

18. Communications Timeline
April 13, 2015
April - June
April - June
June 9, 2015
Regular Board Meeting
Board Votes on Tentative Decision
Employee Conversations
Community Conversations
Board Votes on Final Decision

19. Questions?

20. The Dalton Difference
Dalton High ranked as #40 in Best High Schools in Georgia; #1471 of Best High Schools in the Nation. This was Dalton’s 5th time to be ranked. Dalton High had the highest rank of any high school north of the metro Atlanta area.
Dalton High is one of only 29 high schools in Georgia to offer the International Baccalaureate Program (IB). The average IB exam pass rate at Dalton High is 86 percent compared to percent in the US.
According to the National Clearinghouse, 63 percent of Dalton graduates enter college during their first year out of high school, and 70 percent by their second year out of high school.
Dalton High was named an AP Honors School for the last two years by the College Board.
Thirteen Dalton High students have been named Gates Millennium Scholars since 2008.

21. What the Best and Wisest Parent Wants for His Own Child, That Must The Community Want For All Of Its Children. Any Other Ideal For Our Schools is Narrow and Unlovely; Acted Upon It Destroys Our Democracy.
John Dewey