The Habersham County Board of Education christened its new boardroom Thursday afternoon. Members gathered for a work session, meeting for the first time in the newly renovated space.
The boardroom is inside the historic Clarkesville Elementary School gymnasium, now the Central Office Annex. Over the years, the building has been used for various purposes, from an alternative school to a storage facility.
“We are very excited about our new space,” said Habersham County Assistant School Superintendent Patrick Franklin.
According to Franklin, the school system had limited meeting spaces for large crowds without using an auditorium, depriving students of using that space. The old board meeting room would only seat 64 people and was “cramped” when full.
The new meeting room had 98 chairs set out for the work session. Franklin said they could “easily seat 130,” making it more comfortable for meetings.
“The public will be able to have a larger space,” he said.
Franklin recognized Facilities and Maintenance Director Denise Gunn and her team for the renovation project.
“I want to thank Ms. Gunn and her team as this was an in-house project that we did with contractors, and we handled it all as the Habersham County School System,” he said. “She did a wonderful job.”
Now Habersham asked Franklin how much the renovation cost, but he said he did not have those figures available at the work session. Friday after the meeting he responded that the total cost of the renovation was $343,412.
