The Clarke County School District is taking a new look at how to put the historic West Broad School to use, almost 20 years after the buildings were vacated and nearly a decade after CCSD ended a farmers market and community garden on the property.
In 2010, the Athens Land Trust worked with the University of Georgia to land a USDA community food project grant. The goal was to provide low-income residents with economic opportunities and healthy food options. The land trust searched for an appropriate site for two years.
In March of 2012, Athens Land Trust started a community garden on the long-shuttered West Broad Elementary School’s playground. The school—originally built for Black students during the Jim Crow era—had previously housed Rutland Academy, a facility for students with severe emotional and behavioral issues, but it had moved to a new building in 2007.
For four years, the arrangement flourished. Then in 2016, former CCSD Superintendent Phillip Lanoue proposed using the West Broad campus as district offices and paving over the garden for parking. A multi-agency committee couldn’t figure out a way to revitalize the neighborhood, the garden and the school buildings. While discussions were underway, neighborhood residents continued tending and harvesting their vegetables, and vendors continued selling their foods, baked goods, teas, jewelry and other items at the Saturday market.
Members of the Black community have been vocal about wanting to preserve the school, especially the original 1930s building facing Minor Street, citing fond memories of attending classes there, in the case of older residents, as well as its role in Athens history. In March 2017, three proposals emerged for how to use the property:
The Athens Land Trust proposed restoring the historic buildings and turning the property into a community center, with a commercial kitchen, classrooms, conference rooms, a wood shop, a health clinic, an auditorium and basketball courts. Funding would be $3.2 million from Athens-Clarke County’s SPLOST 2012 earmarked for “youth development” and matching grants raised by the Athens Land Trust.
A proposal from the Northeast Georgia Business Alliance (a Black chamber-of-commerce-type organization) and the Athens High and Burney-Harris alumni groups would have included a museum, recording studio, commercial space, after-school programs, a community kitchen and business incubator, and would preserve the garden.
CCSD also submitted its own proposal, which former Superintendent Demond Means said was based on school board input. It includes additional space for early childhood education, a health clinic, a parent information center and space for disciplinary hearings, but made no mention of the garden.
In 2019, Means ended the school district’s contract with the Athens Land Trust. He proposed installing a center for early childhood education in West Broad, but that idea wasn’t feasible. Later that year, Means resigned.
In 2021, the CCSD BOE rejected the idea of putting an early learning center on the West Broad campus, deciding instead to create a center on the Eastside, in the old Gaines School building. In May 2022, the board voted to “restore and renovate” all the buildings on the West Broad campus and to create something “innovative and incredible,” although whether two 1950s buildings can be salvaged is a matter of debate.
In 2023, the Athens-Clarke County government again presented CCSD a plan to transform the West Broad campus into a youth community center, with funding coming from the 2012 SPLOST and Athens Land Trust. The campus would house a youth development center with a commercial kitchen, community garden, market pavilion and meeting rooms where both youth and adults could receive job training and small business support. The land trust’s Young Urban Builders and Young Urban Farmers programs would also be based there. The BOE rejected the plan and its $8.2 million in funding.
The West Broad School buildings have been vacant for 18 years—until recently. Neighborhood residents report that people are now using drugs in the vacant buildings, and possibly using them for shelter. A fire in one building has damaged it, and trash is everywhere.
CCSD Assistant Superintendent for Operations John Gilbreath said the ACC fire marshal is requiring the school district to do asbestos abatement on and remove trash from the damaged building. That will cost the school district $142,000. He wants to board up windows and doors and maybe even fence the property to further deter people from breaking inside.
The board plans to discuss West Broad further at its Oct. 16 retreat. Board members have each offered suggestions for how the property should be used, including a magnet school or STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and math) academy for ninth-graders.
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