Plans are in the works for a new cluster of schools near Hoschton in western Jackson County.
The Jackson County School Board voted in February 2024 to purchase over 170 acres of land for the new schools, and then voted in January 2025 on school names: Hayes Elementary, Sells Mill Middle and Hoschton High.
Jackson County School System Public Information Officer Edward Hooper said the new elementary and high schools are expected to open in the fall of 2027. Sells Mill Middle School is expected to open in fall of 2028.
Hooper said continued growth in the West Jackson area has led to the decision to build new schools.
"Jackson County is the fastest-growing school system in the state. It's the fourth-fastest growing county in terms of residents moving in in the nation," Hooper said. "We're averaging 662 (new) kids every school year. That's the size of a lot of our elementary schools. There's obviously a need for new schools."
The schools will be built in one cluster on the property at the intersection of Ga. 332 and Boone Road. Hooper said the cluster will be interconnected, in similar structure to the recently-built new campus of Jackson County High School and the accompanying Legacy Knoll Middle School and Heroes Elementary School.
"There's going to be a giant parking lot in the middle where students and staff will park...the fields are all kind of interconnected," Hooper said. "The key is, there's going to be five entrance points and exits to that campus, so a lot of traffic, but a lot of different ways to get on and off to three different major roads in Jackson County to help alleviate the traffic."
Hooper said while estimated costs for the total project have not been completely nailed down, the average cost of building a new high school is around $150 million. He said the goal is the fund the construction with a general obligation bond and the potential continuation of the education special local option sales tax, both of which are set to come to votes in March.
Hooper added that exact district lines for the new schools have also not been drawn, largely due to how rapid growth has been in recent years in the West Jackson area.
"We'd love to make a decision today and say 'here's the line,'" Hooper said. "The thing we're continuously watching is the number of homes that are being built and the number of kids coming in. I think that's going to be a decision that's going to be made by our school system as we do get closer to those schools opening, just so we have the right number."
Hooper said the goal with the redistricting will be to have the three county high schools (Hoschton, Jackson County and East Jackson high schools) be roughly the same population. Jackson County High School currently has just over 2,200 students with East Jackson High having just under 1,400 according to the latest enrollment data from the Georgia Department of Education.
Decisions have also yet to be made regarding principals, mascots or colors for the three new schools.
