On Oct. 4 last year, Gatewood School officials, local community leaders, and representatives of SmithBuilt Construction Group gathered to toss the ceremonial first shovelfuls of dirt that signified the start of building a new high school in Eatonton.
That approximately 30,000-square-foot building is now almost complete, with only finishing details left before school resumes Aug. 16, and Gatewood Director of Development Marie Rainey is thrilled with the nearly finished product.
“It’s very exciting. I can’t wait for everyone to see it,” she said last Wednesday, shortly after leading a building tour with Project Manager Ray Schad, Eatonton Police Chief Howell Cardwell, and Eatonton Fire Chief Jamey Williamson, both Gatewood graduates.
“We took the kids in right before the school got out, and it was great watching them walk around and say, ‘Oh, look at this, look at that.’ It was real fun watching them,” Rainey added later. “I look forward to seeing everybody get excited about it again. I mean, the last time they saw it, it still had bare concrete floors. We didn’t have any of the flooring in, none of the fixtures, and it was kind of bare.”
School Headmaster Jeff Decker’s office will be at the right front corner of the structure. After being encamped in a windowless interior office for years – as has Rainey – both look forward to having literal windows to the Gatewood world upon making the move.
Visitors enter the building at a nearby door, where they are “buzzed in” to a small reception area before entering the main structure.
Cardwell, in particular, was interested in all aspects of the new high school’s security measures, while Williamson praised the school’s state-of-the-art fire suppression system.
A short hallway leads to the back of the building, opening up on a second, crosswise hallway, soon-to-be lined by lockers on one side and banked by eight classrooms, including two dedicated science rooms, a music room with lock-ups for instruments, and a large, dedicated art room.
The project's centerpiece, though, is the large, central hall that will double as the school’s lunchroom and a performance venue featuring a wide, deep stage, with boys’ and girls’ dressing rooms backstage.
“I can’t wait to see our kids performing up here,” Rainey said while standing on the stage. “They’re going to love this.”
Rainey said Gatewood's parents and alumni donations primarily funded the project, which was about $8.3 million.
The school also receives financial aid for tuition through Georgia Goal (goalscholarship.org), a state-run tax credit program similar to the one it provides to help rural hospitals.