Putnam County community leaders are seeing some signs of rapid population growth – and some flip sides that will take planning and money.
Although he did not cite the sources of the projections, Commissioner Jeff Wooten last week told members of the informal Eatonton-Putnam Tourism, Arts, and Heritage Partnership group (EPTAH) that Putnam could be looking at 5,000-8,000 new residents within the next decade. The 2020 census pegged Putnam’s population at a little over 22,000, itself an all-time high.
“Housing here is booming,” Wooten said, as a reflection on the commission’s recent attention to rezoning requests.
Such a population surge signals a strong boost to the local economy, especially in the construction and service sectors.
However, even with a large retirement community absorbing much of that predicted housing growth, at least half would be for younger working families – many with children, which Putnam school board chairman Steve Weiner conservatively estimated would add more than 1,000 children to the county’s schools.
“Right now, we have no way to accommodate them (school-age children) without techniques like double shifts and temporary classrooms,” said Weiner. In round numbers, the Putnam school system’s primary, elementary, middle, and high schools have 3,000 students.
The private Gatewood School has another 400 or so.
Rising costs and longer construction times would be part of the problem for the school system. The system is currently in the process of building a new elementary school, but it will not be ready before the 2025-26 school year, Weiner said.
In the last two or three years, the costs of building a new school have risen into the $40 million range. Three more school facilities would add something like another $140 million to the system’s costs.
“Lots of money is required,” Weiner said.