DORAVILLE, Ga. — The DeKalb County School Board approved the final contract to build a first of its kind new combined middle and high school.
Work on the new Doraville facility has already begun.
Channel 2’s Steve Gehlbach was at Sequoyah Middle School on Aztec Road, where officials said both schools will be on the same campus.
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Some facilities, like new sports fields and gymnasiums, will be shared between the middle and high schools.
Officials told Gehlbach that the middle school that’s currently on-site will be replaced and they’ll also build a brand new high school.
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“People are excited, now able to see [it] come to fruition,” Principal Sedrick Anthony said.
He told Channel 2 Action News that the building on campus right now was built in the 1960s and it shows.
While the school only has a capacity of 1,000 students, Anthony said “We surpassed that about 11 years ago, so currently we’re at 1,600 students.”
The new schools are needed for the growing city of Doraville, but also encompass the Buford Highway corridor from Chamblee to Norcross.
The principal said the current student population is more than 90% Hispanic, with English as a second language, saying that the new schools will reenergize students, staff and the community as a whole.
“I would say a significant investment in students that have typically been marginalized so have opportunity to say you’re important and you’re invested,” Anthony said.
The DeKalb County School Board approved the final contract to build the new school on Monday for a $230 million education special local option sales tax, or E-SPLOST.
The first phase of moving into a new middle school should be complete by summer 2027, with the high school to complete in 2029.
Officials told Channel 2 Action News that the schools will probably have a new name, new mascot and new colors. A community meeting to talk about ideas is set for April 28.
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