The Sumter County Board of Education held a town hall meeting to hear citizen input on the future of the old high school at 805 Harold Avenue.

Superintendent Walter Knighton told how the Board of Education had already heard several proposed uses. One was the Center for Innovation and Prosperity by former Chamber CEO Chamber CEO Amber Batchelor, which would provide jobs training for students. A YMCA was another proposed use for the building. Rusty Warner, executive director of the Payroll Development Authority, proposed that the area be developed for housing.

Travis Lockhart addressed the Board. “I’m a proud graduate from the Americus high school, class of 1998. I grew up on the South side of town. I’m here representing all the constituents on the South side.”

He told how the South side struggles disproportionately with crime. “We have more gun violence, more break-ins, burglaries, more shootings, than any other side of town in Americus Georgia.” Lockhart gave the reasons he believed were behind crime in the area. “In 2007, Sumter County Recreation Department left the South side of Americus, into the County. Follow up, in 2006. . .the pool left South side. And then the biggest thing left, is our pride and joy, our high school left, in 2020, to the County.” He told how parents and kids were left with nothing to do. “We were decimated.”

Lockhart described the result. “These kids over there, South side, have no activity. Crime rate is up, the drive by rate is up, and everything is up.”

He gave his recommendation to turn the school into a community center or a YMCA. Lockhart told how its convenient location was important, because many living in the Southside lack vehicles. “How can those kids get to the Sumter County for football, or get to the recreation center for basketball? They can’t.” He told how this encouraged children to learn from the negative role models available.

Lockhart addressed the diverse range of people who had appeared to discuss the high school’s fate, and stated that the use of the high school as a community Center would encourage diversity. He viewed use as a community center as a continuation of its original purpose, addressing those gathered. “Keep fighting. Keep up the good work. Keep up the challenge, to make sure that this building stays as the Americus High School.”

Naschasia Davis, an Americus Highschool graduate, was one of the speakers that addressed the Board. “My suggestion is, first, this gym and all the equipment and space available should be used as an extension of the Sumter County rec department.”

Davis praised the Rec Department. “Sumter County Rec Department is a very good and valuable program. It made a huge difference for a lot of kids that take part in that program. It would be wonderful if there could be more variety.”

She also gave a suggestion that the main office of the school could be used to relocate the Head Start Program from Fresh Start. “Fresh Start is a very good program, but I feel like Head Start needs to be in its own . . .space.”

Davis stated that the vocational building should be used as a resource center. “The teachers can come in, and have one-on-one time with students.” She also stated the space could be used for study rooms and organizations. “A lot of the clubs that are lost now [need] to be brought back.” She stated it could also provide a venue for tutoring.

Kimberly Baker also addressed the Board. “I’ve been part of this community for the last 25 years, my two daughters graduated from here, and my husband actually works for the school board system as well.”

She also spoke of the closure of the Boys and Girls Club. “When that shut down a few years later the crime rate just started going up for our young people.”

Baker spoke of the need for a Community Center with activities for youth. “Research indicates the availability of youth centers can significantly reduce crime rates, with studies showing a correlation between increased access to positive youth programs and . . .decrease in juvenile delinquency, particularly when these centers provide structured activities, mentorships and opportunities for school development.”

She gave even further opportunities for the community. “Why not utilize it to better our community, to lower our crime rate? We can have a pregnancy center. We can have work programs in here.” Baker also gave parenting classes as another option.

Baker again addressed the crime rate. “It’s only gonna continue to get worse if we don’t bring some positivity into the community.”

Teresa Crawford, a 1980 graduate of Americus High School, addressed the Board. “Growing up here, there was always Summer programs held here in this gym, at the baseball fields, in some of the classrooms, where kids were able to learn to cheerlead, tumbling, dancing, arts and crafts, and you had teenagers that would walk the kids to the Barlow Street pool for swim lessons, walk the kids to the baseball field, and I would like to see that brought back in the form of a Community Center also.”

She addressed its location in the community. “This area is well loved, and it is used to some of the traffic that we get, so that’s not a concern. We look out for the kids we see walking to and from.”

Crawford told how the community wanted to preserve the area. “It’s one of these areas that we really want to see preserved. We have heard rumors about low-income apartments going in here, and I would really like to discourage that, because Americus already has the highest rate of citizens living in subsidized housing in the entire state of Georgia, to the tune of 10.8%.”

She stressed the importance of the athletic fields. “I would really like to see you not do any kind of housing in here, but do something that would benefit the entire community, even if it meant just keeping the athletic fields and demolishing some of the other buildings.”

Jimmy Whaley also addressed the meeting. “I am going to go a little different route than what we have heard so far. One thing that I think that people have a hard time understanding is there’s 34 acres here, and there’s a lot of room to do multiple things.”

He addressed differing opinions. “I know we’ve heard to not add it back to the tax base. There’s plenty of land to be able to build homes and to add to the tax base and to have your Community Center, and I think the way you can fund it is by selling to a developer. You could put 50 houses here, add $10 million to the tax base like that, no problem.” Whaley stated that residential homes would be better than a business that increased traffic.

Whaley stated that he believed it would have a positive benefit to City, County, and School Board Taxes. “We have a lack of homes in Sumter County, and in the City of Americus. The City of Americus has about 40% home ownership. That’s sad.”

Whaley stated that low-income homes were a need. “I think you can find a way to encourage a builder, incentivize a builder, to build homes that can be owned by the working class, instead of just, you know, 250, 300 plus, which is all we have seen built here since prior to ’07.”

Whaley stated that even if the building and football field were left, there would still be room. “There’s still another 25 acres that you can put 50 homes in a heartbeat, you just have to have the right developer.”