Decatur Schools Administrative Offices May Move Into Beacon Hill

The Decatur School Board got a look Monday night at drawings for what may become the school system's new administrative offices.

The City of Decatur is going to renovate the on West Trinity Place and would have space for the school system. The drawings were shown during of the school board and city commission.

In the attached drawing, the school system would use the two stories of space behind the courtyard, if the school board agrees with the plan. will occupy the space on the right, the Active Living Department the area on the left.

City Manager Peggy Merriss said that when the project is finished, about 26,000 square feet would be available for the school system -- a little more than it now enjoys at the

Said Schools Superintendent Phyllis Edwards, "We need a central office of some sort if we're going to convert Westchester back into a school." The system needs classroom space for growing enrollment.

SPLOST money is only for capital projects. Attorneys say the school system could legally pay for the Beacon Hill space with SPLOST, perhaps using a condominium approach, Edwards said. If the system rented, it would have to use general funds.

The school board members at the meeting said they'd talk about the idea and get back to the city commission.

Nobody expressed serious reservations. Several people said they liked the idea of returning Beacon Hill, which was the school for the black community before integration, back to an educational use.

Merriss said nine artists' studios would have to be moved out of the building because of the change in tenants, but otherwise most of the current Active Living offices would stay in Beacon Hill.