The Oconee County school system recently bought two adjacent parcels of land on Main Street in downtown Watkinsville, where officials plan to build a school services facility in the future, according to schools Superintendent John Jackson.

“We’re kind of fragmented,” said Jackson. “In looking toward the future and establishing a vision for how things can work better and more efficiently, the board wanted to at least have a piece of property that could be the site for where all of these parts and pieces come together.” 

The two parcels – one measuring 2.4 acres and the other 4.2 acres – were bought by the school system on Dec. 29 at a combined cost of $900,000. 

The land, located just north of Bethel Baptist Church, was purchased from Charles Edward Williams and John David Williams, a former member of the school board. 

Currently, school services functions, such as instructional support staff and school social workers, are working in offices and trailers at several of the county’s 10 public schools. 

A new facility would allow for employees working in six trailers, three school buildings and three central office buildings to combine under one roof. 

The idea to buy land as a site for a school services facility, which is partially funded through the county’s Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax, was on the agenda of past school boards, Jackson said. Other projects, such as the completion of North Oconee High School, took priority, however, and land was not bought until last month. 

“This board finally has had a chance to make at least a baby step on securing the property,” said Jackson. Construction, he said, “may not happen in this SPLOST, but perhaps in a future SPLOST.” 

In addition to office space, Jackson hopes new construction on the land will include a space for meeting facilities, as the current meeting space on School Street fills quickly during school board meetings.

“We have a high performance school system with a lot of students and employees that we recognize on a regular basis at our board meetings,” said Jackson. “A new school services building would allow us a space to be able to honor our people and recognize them at a board meeting.”

As the county continues to grow, Jackson expects enrollment to rise, and the need for more school system space to increase as well. Now that the schools have an adequate amount of classroom space, Jackson said, the system can look into projects such as the school services facility.

Although the board does not know when the school services facility might be built, Jackson said the three buildings on School Street that currently house the school system’s central office will still be used, perhaps for alternative programs. 

“Another added bonus that you can’t put a dollar figure on is just the perception of a progressive school system when we recruit teachers and principals and assistant principals,” said Jackson.  “We believe that down the road, having a facility that presents that image to people within the community and out of the community is important.”

Anna Dolianitis is a reporter for The Oconee Leader. She can be reached at 706-310-1104 or by email at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

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