A state school facilities expert told school board members last week they would be “very unwise” to invest more money into one of Polk County’s former middle schools, Cedar Hill, and the old Rockmart High School.

Dr. Jerry Rochelle, facilities director with the Georgia Board of Education, was at the June 8 meeting at the request of the board. The Polk School District Board of Education sought clarification of the state’s ruling against a proposal to remodel the schools.

Rochelle said a myriad of problems exist at both campuses. However, he said if the board wanted to spend additional money on an engineering study, and the board was prepared to spend the millions of dollars that would be needed to fix existing problems, it might be possible to reuse the old schools.

“I’m not going to tell you it cannot be approved,” Rochelle said. “But I think you’re very unwise to spend another dollar on it.”

Rochelle reminded the board that the school system received state money for new schools, based in part on the closure of the Cedar Hill and RHS campuses.

The schools were closed because of a variety of problems, some of which have gotten worse.

Cedar Hill, though fairly structurally sound, has a high-pressure gas line running almost directly behind the campus. Making matters worse is the fact that a railroad lies in close proximity to the campus. Both the gas line and the railroad could create hazardous situations for children and teachers attending the school.

There are serious structural problems at the old RHS school, the State officials said. Some design features, such as the width of hallways, do not meet current state codes. There are fire code issues that would have to be contended with at both sites … and there’s more.

As in Cedar Hill’s case, the close proximity of a railroad and a high-pressure natural gas line are two other factors that count against the old RHS site.

Both schools were allowed to operate in the past because the State Department’s guidelines were not as strict as they currently are.

Though once approved by the State before, the schools must be re-evaluated and approved again since they were shut down.

“The final criteria … is the best available site,” Rochelle said. “The bottom line is … the engineer has got to be able to tell me the risk of kids dying (on the campus) is less than on the school bus riding to school.

“I am not going to, in good conscience, let you take your most valuable possession and group them in one location where you are putting them in danger.”

Rochelle’s job is to review proposed school sites submitted to the state by local school boards. Sites that don’t meet the state guidelines are rejected, which means they do not qualify for state funding.

Rochelle also had some good news for the board. He advised board members of the availability of state money.

The state has extended for one year the availability of $611,000 of Category B funds to Polk County Schools. This money was appropriated by the state Legislature to assist schools in meeting state-mandated, smaller pupil-to-teacher ratios. School systems have some discretion in how this money is spent.

Also, Rochelle said the school system will begin earning state money for new school construction in about two years, provided the Legislature keeps funding at current levels.

School systems “earn” state money for school construction based on a formula that includes the amount of available classroom space. When a new school is built, it takes a number of years to “pay off” the state funding.

Rochelle advised the board to move ahead with a priority list for school needs. The school system must turn to a Special Local Option Sales Tax to fund the majority of the needed projects, he said. But within the next five years, the school system could qualify “for $2 million or $3 million.”

“I’ve worked with every school system in the state,” Rochelle said. “Your situation is as tough as any I’ve seen, but it’s a problem that can be solved. It’s going to take a lot of work and a lot of effort.”