Fayette County BOE wants to replace Booth Middle School

Plans for a new facility to replace J.C. Booth Middle School in Peachtree City will be brought be brought before the Board of Education for further consideration. Courtesy FCBOE

Plans for a new facility to replace J.C. Booth Middle School in Peachtree City will be brought be brought before the Board of Education for further consideration. Courtesy FCBOE

After weighing two final options regarding renovating or replacing J.C. Booth Middle School in Peachtree City, the Fayette County Board of Education has decided to move forward with plans for a new school building at another site.

The board voted 5-0 at Monday’s work session to begin design plans and draft a request for proposals regarding new construction on 37 acres of recently purchased property off Stagecoach Road. Superintendent Joseph Barrow Jr. said the current facility on Peachtree Parkway “is not meeting the needs of our students today.” Although a preliminary estimate put the cost of building a new school at around $47 million, a more precise bid must be brought before the board before the project can be approved.

The current Booth building has been valued at $12.5 million, and could either be repurposed or sold. The board did not make a decision about whether to renovate and reopen Tyrone Elementary School, saying more data is needed first.