Photos: LaGrange’s newly rebuilt Ethel Kight Elementary School welcome students
Published 12:00 am Monday, August 10, 2015
LaGRANGE — The newly rebuilt Ethel Kight Elementary School in LaGrange opened its doors today for the 2015-2016 school year.
At 101,801 total square feet and two stories, the new Ethel Kight Elementary has a maximum capacity of 800 students. There won’t be near that many set to go this school year, according to the school’s administration, but the facility has been designed to accommodate growth.
One part of the old school still stands – the cafeteria, which has been renovated with new kitchen equipment, tables, seats and an outdoor patio where students can eat. A plaque still is affixed to the wall, noting the add-on was built in 1973, when the building was Troup Junior High School, with Callaway Foundation funding.
The new building has been equipped with new technology, including more efficient utility equipment.
For lighting, the school system opted to use LEDs, or light-emitting diodes, which use a fraction of the electricity, generate less heat and have a longer lifespan than fluorescent lights. Light switches in certain areas at the school also are connected to motion sensors to automatically shut off the lights if no one is around.
The new school comes with a price tag of about $16 million, funded from special-purpose, local-option sales tax – or SPLOST – funds. The SPLOST, a voter-approved 1 percent sales tax on items countywide, can be used for specified capital expenses, like building, equipment and maintenance costs – but not salaries or programs.
