School Board Approved the Classroom Addition at Ola Middle

Construction will be starting soon on a classroom addition at Ola Middle School. The Henry County school board approved the construction bid in June 2024.

The Ola Middle addition is the second of six classroom additions to advance under education SPLOST VI. Other projects include a new STEM high school and two new elementary schools.

Ola Middle School Classroom Addition

The Henry County school board held their monthly meeting on Monday, June 10. They approved the construction bid to add classrooms onto Ola Middle School.

The district advertised construction bids from April 19 to May 23, 2024. They received six bids. ICB Construction Group of Macon, GA had the lowest cost. They will complete the project for $10.1 million.

This will be the contractor’s second project for Henry County Schools. ICB Construction previously built the second gymnasium at Eagles Landing High School in 2019–2020.

About the Project

Construction is slated to begin in July, and continue through October 2025. The project will add eleven classrooms and three science labs onto the building. The work also includes associated workrooms, offices, orchestra suite, and restrooms. The addition will be built onto the west side of the existing building. It will be of similar brick masonry to match the existing building.

Finally, the contractor will construct a new roadway from Wilson Drive. This will provide a secondary access point for school busses to enter the high and middle school.

Ola Middle School first opened its doors to students in 2006. As of March 2024, the most-recent state reporting date, the school had 1,105 enrolled students.

Classroom Additions

Henry County voters approved education SPLOST VI in March 2021. Among the projects are six classroom additions. They include the following:

• Dutchtown High and Dutchtown Middle School,
• Ola High and Ola Middle Schools,
• Locust Grove High School, and
• Union Grove Middle School.

The Dutchtown High School addition completed in spring 2023. After Ola Middle, next up will be additions at Dutchtown Middle and Ola High Schools. Both are estimated to start construction in 2025, and finish during the 2026–27 school year.

In addition, E-SPLOST VI has a new STEM high school and two new elementary schools. The school district will accept construction bids for the STEM high school this fall. It will be located in downtown Stockbridge. The new school — offering advanced curriculum in science, math and healthcare courses — opens in 2026.

Finally, the first new elementary school opens this August. Birch Creek Elementary is located off Willow Lane in McDonough. A second new elementary school will be in Locust Grove. Its construction could start as early as next year.

Altogether, the projects will add classroom space for 5,000 students by 2028.

Featured image shows the front exterior of Ola Middle School. Homes.com photo.