Cherokee County School Board Approves Budget, Votes to Reopen Canton Elementary in 2028 — and Keeps Millage Rate at Historic Low

The board's March 19 meeting also addressed the future of the current Cherokee High School campus, new student accountability policies, and results of a district-wide employee survey

The Cherokee County School Board closed out a packed agenda Thursday, March 19, adopting a tentative budget for the 2026-27 school year, voting unanimously to reopen Canton Elementary School in August 2028, and setting in motion the sale of the original Cherokee High School campus — all in a single evening that carried equal measures of fiscal discipline and emotional resonance for a fast-growing district that has spent years managing the growing pains of success.

**A Promise Kept**

The vote to reopen Canton Elementary drew the most visible reaction from the dais. The original Canton ES — once a neighborhood anchor for families in the county seat — was repurposed as part of Cherokee High School in 2017, a decision board member Kelly Poole described Thursday as "very difficult" at the time. Poole, along with board members Rick Steiner and Patsy Jordan, had made a public promise to the community that the school would one day return.

"This fulfills a promise to the community that Rick Steiner, Patsy Jordan and myself made," Poole said.

The plan calls for renovating the current Cherokee North facility and reopening it as Canton Elementary in August 2028. The timeline encompasses both the physical renovation and a boundary-redrawing process to establish the new school's attendance zone — a detail that will matter to Canton-area families watching closely as the district's population continues to grow.

The decision did not emerge quickly. More than 2,800 parents, business partners and alumni participated in focus groups and surveys conducted at all school faculty meetings. Nine possible uses for the Cherokee High campus were identified and evaluated against three criteria: positive impact on student learning, addressing an identified need or organizational risk, and financial sustainability. Only two uses cleared all three bars — the Canton ES renovation and the sale of the main campus.

**What Happens to the Old Cherokee High Campus**

The main Cherokee High School campus will be appraised and advertised for sale, with proceeds earmarked for career readiness and vocational education programs at each of the district's high schools. For a county where workforce development has become an increasingly prominent conversation — Cherokee County's Chamber of Commerce and local employers have long pushed for stronger career pathways — the prospect of directing real estate proceeds directly into CTE programming carries practical weight beyond the nostalgia of the building itself.

**New Cherokee High Is Almost Ready**

While the old campus moves toward a new chapter, the replacement Cherokee High School — funded by the voter-approved Education-SPLOST — is on schedule and within budget to open this August. The new facility has already received conditional certificates of occupancy, with crews now finalizing bus and car traffic flow and parking configurations.

Chief of Staff Tyler Gwynn presented a plan to ensure the legacy of the original campus travels with the school community: the original totem pole, the Squat sculpture and the Tommy Baker Field sign will all be preserved and relocated. "This is a beautiful facility," board member Dr. Susan Padgett-Harrison said. "I can't wait for everybody to get inside and see it."

Residents can follow the transition at cherokeek12.net/divisions/support-services/once-always.

**A Budget That Raises Pay Without Raising Taxes**

Chief Financial Officer Kenneth Owen presented a proposed spending plan that holds the millage rate at its historic low — no small feat in a district that has grown dramatically over the past two decades and now ranks among Georgia's larger suburban systems. The budget provides both step increases and 3% raises for all eligible full-time and part-time employees. Pre-K teacher salaries will be aligned with the K-12 pay scale, and hourly rates will rise for bus drivers, paraprofessionals in self-contained classrooms and paraprofessional substitutes.

Owen also offered a broader snapshot of the district's trajectory: Cherokee County Schools has climbed from 21st to 8th in student performance among Georgia's 180 school districts, while simultaneously shrinking central office general administration costs to the sixth lowest in the state. Ninety-two percent of the general fund operating budget goes directly to salaries and benefits — a figure that reflects where the board has chosen to put its money.

Public millage rate hearings are scheduled for 11:30 a.m. on April 2 and April 16, and at 6:30 p.m. on April 16, with a final budget vote set for the board's 7 p.m. meeting on April 23.

**Listening to Teachers — and Acting on What They Said**

The board also received results from a third-party employee survey conducted by Hanover Research. Of 6,000 surveys distributed to district staff, 3,078 employees responded and 1,049 provided written comments — a response rate that suggests the workforce had things it wanted to say.

Superintendent Mary Elizabeth Davis identified four main themes from the results: competitive compensation, access to technology and infrastructure, student academic ownership and responsibility, and quality teacher planning and preparation time. Board member Chance Beam pushed back against any reading of the results as mere grievance.

"You named specific issues: compensation, student behavior, resources in the classroom, leadership at the building level that either lifted you up or needed some working on," Beam said. "I will commit to making sure this data drives real conversations and real decisions."

In direct response to the survey, the district announced several changes for next school year: reducing student assessments by eliminating the CogAT and PSAT 9, moving Georgia Milestones testing days to May, and adjusting the student calendar to add early-dismissal days for parent-teacher conferences and academic conference days at all grade levels.

**New Policies on Grades, Devices and Student Accountability**

The board approved first readings of two new policies and updates to two existing ones, all aimed at increasing student academic ownership. The changes touch grading systems, promotion and retention practices, the role of student devices in classrooms and social media use at school.

Under the proposed grading policy, the third-grade standards-based report card would shift to the numerical and letter grading system used in grades four through 12 beginning next school year. Summer school would be re-established for middle and high school students, and course extensions after a grade is posted would be eliminated. A new device policy establishes that laptops are a tool to support — not replace — teacher instruction, with a new device assignment model launching at all middle schools next school year. Final versions of all policies are expected to come before the board for adoption at the April meeting.

**Looking Further Out**

The board also heard an update on the Elevate 2032 long-range strategic plan, which is being developed through community focus groups, a public forum and an online survey, with final adoption by the board as the goal.

Residents seeking more detail on the budget can access the district's community-facing Financial Facts report at cherokeek12.net.