Renovations at Armuchee
Finding the best fit for the community
By Kenya Hunter
When it came time to make plans to build Armuchee High
School, board members had a choice between building an
entirely new school or modernizing the old building.
Modernization was chosen over a new school primarily
because of space and cost. Armuchee is a large high school,
and space-wise it may be the largest in the Floyd County
School system. The
short explanation for
modernization is a new
building would cost
much more money than
renovating the current
facilities.
Superintendent Jeff
Wilson said ultimately,
a new school alone
would have cost close
to $39 million ‑ that’s
about the same price
as all four phases
of the Armuchee
High School project,
including fixing athletic
facilities and replacing
the roof.
The project that is
the modernization of
Armuchee High School
is broken up into four
phases, proposed to
the school board by
Wilson.
Two of those
phases, phase one
and phase three,
would be improving
athletic facilities.
According to a
budget study done
by Floyd County
Schools, improvement
is projected to include
new synthetic turf on
the football field and a six-lane track.
When brainstorming for Armuchee first began, there were
talks of an eight-lane track.
“If the community wants an eight-lane track, we’ll do an
eight-lane track,” he said.
According to Wilson’s estimate, adding two more lanes
could cost another
$190,000. That figure is
primarily because of the
way the football field is
set up and to add those
two lanes workers would
have to cut into a hill and
move the position of the
football field.
Stage two is fixing the
roof, which he hopes
will start in the summer
of 2021. The board
decided to hold off on
the roof work and build
a new gym before fixing
the roof in hopes to get
reimbursement from the
state on that project.
According to FCS, the
roof replacement cannot
begin until after state
capital outlay funds,
or reimbursement, are
applied for in Fall 2020.
After that, the system has
to get approval from the
Department of Education.
That’s where stage four
comes in.
The very last stage
is the modernization of
Armuchee High School,
which is expected to
begin in 2022.
Wilson said the entire
project will cost $50
72 OUTLOOK | APRIL 2020
A wood carving of an Indian watches over the trophy case at the
new 32,000-square-foot gym at Armuchee High School.