Cobb hires architect to design replacement of run-down school

The Cobb County School District has hired an architect to design the replacement school for Harmon Leland Elementary, which has been plagued by sewer backups and other signs of deterioration.

The school board voted in the spring to put $5 million into the school construction, but that was only a fraction of the money required. The rest would have to come from the next (fifth) Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax, which angered parents at the school.

The design is expected to cost $1.5 million, 5 percent of the construction cost, which will not be funded unless voters approve SPLOST V in March, the district says. The board on Thursday authorized the design contract with the firm Cunningham Forehand Mathews and Moore Architects of Atlanta.