Making history for Matt Arthur Primary: District breaks ground on Wednesday

KATHLEEN, Ga. — About a month ago, the Houston County School District held a called meeting for what used to be called “Elementary 14,” giving the school a brand new name: Matt Arthur Primary School.

On Wednesday, the district took another step towards completion of the school, symbolically breaking ground at the facility’s future location. On April 26, the Board of Education, district staff, local leaders, and the community gathered for a celebration at the site.

Key speakers at the groundbreaking ceremony were Board Chairman Helen Hughes and Superintendent Mark Scott. Hughes opened the ceremony speaking on growth in the area and thanking the community for their support.

“This is an exciting day. I am pleased to be part of this ceremony and even more grateful for the opportunity to publicly thank the voters of Houston County who approved the E-SPLOST to build this new facility.

“If you drive in almost any direction of us here today, you’ll find that growth is happening all around us as more people choose to call Houston County their home. Our Board is committed to providing the necessary resources for all students to become high achievers,” Hughes said.

After Hughes spoke, Scott took the podium, making a heartfelt speech thanking the community and providing information about the upcoming school. Then, the board, staff and community gathered, shovels in hand, to break ground on the school’s construction site.

Scott said the new school will be around 104,000 square feet and will feature 58 classrooms, as well as a gym and media center. Robertson Loia Roof designed the project and the total cost is expected to be around $29 million.

Matt Arthur Primary will serve as a direct feeder to nearby Matt Arthur Elementary School. Students pre-K through 2nd grade will attend the primary school, then transfer to the elementary school starting at 3rd grade.

With the district’s average elementary school attendance ranging from 500-700 students, Matt Arthur Elementary currently houses almost 900 students.

As the area surrounding Matt Arthur Primary continues to grow, building a new school in the area makes sense, according to Christopher Brown, the district’s Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources and District Operations.

“Growth is driving all of that decision. There are a lot of houses being developed, there’s a lot of permits for houses to be built,” Brown said. “The point of Matt Arthur Primary is to alleviate the growth and size of the number of students at Matt Arthur Elementary.”

The land for this development was purchased in December of 2020, according to Brown. Headed up by Parrish Construction Group, construction is expected to be complete by summer of 2024, with an opening date for August of that year.

The future primary school’s construction site is 150 Talton Road.

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