New charter school secures location at former Macon elementary school

A third charter school in Macon has found a home.

Cirrus Academy plans to renovate the former Hamilton Elementary School building at 1870 Pio Nono Ave. with the financial support of HighMark School Development.

Glenn Hileman, HighMark's CEO, said the building, which originally opened in early 1954, had deteriorated severely over time.

"But the foundation and structure of the school is extraordinary," he said.

The school's organizers are ready to move forward with the project, and Hileman said the process will now turn to designing and planning Cirrus' facility on the existing site, in the Unionville neighborhood.

The plan is for the school to open in August 2016 with an enrollment of 618 students, from kindergarten through the eighth grade.

"It gives us the brick and mortar to let the public know that we are a charter school that is opening," said Sheldon Hart, chairman of the school's governing board.

Cirrus Academy will add a grade each year to eventually serve students from kindergarten through the 12th grade. Students in the three oldest grades will eventually get their own building, which will be located on the same property,

"It'll be a phase two construction site that will house the remaining students," Hart said.

He said he had no concerns about the age and condition of the building, originally named for longtime educator Eugenia Hamilton, and the work that lies ahead. HighMark has estimated that the needed work will cost about $7.6 million, although the design process is still in its early stages.

"We really feel comfortable," Hart said, noting that he's already heard from parents interested in Cirrus Academy. "We're going to launch our full recruitment plan beginning right after Christmas."

The school building had been sold to Central Georgia Partnership for Individual and Community Development in a deal that involved what is now the Promise Center and had an official sale price of $10 in December 2014. That group, in turn, sold the property, which was most recently assessed at a value of more than $1.6 million, to Cirrus Academy for $325,000.

"There wasn't much money involved in that transaction," Hileman said.

Cliffard Whitby, chairman of the Macon-Bibb County Industrial Authority, worked as a volunteer for the Central Georgia Partnership to help find a new occupant for the site. He said the deal was good for economic development in the "blighted area" right around the corner from Interstate 75.

"I think that is one of the most positive things that could have happened to that area," he said.

Cirrus Academy was approved by the State Charter Schools Commission in September 2014. The school went directly for state approval instead of getting authorized by the Bibb County Board of Education, said Bonnie Holliday, executive director of the charter school group.

While that usually results in lower per-pupil funding, being state authorized allows the school to accept students from outside Bibb County.

"Cirrus currently has a statewide attendance zone, and as a result the school must accept any student who applies, ... regardless of the student's county of residence or home school district," Holliday said in an email.

Bibb County's existing charter schools, the Academy for Classical Education and Macon Charter Academy, both went through the local approval process.

Whitby said that the student body makeup resulting from a statewide attendance area will benefit the families from the Unionville neighborhood whose children attend the school.

"That type of collaboration and exposure ... it will add a completely different option for parents," he said.

To contact writer Jeremy Timmerman, call 744-4331 or find him on Twitter@MTJTimm.

This story was originally published November 23, 2015 at 5:23 PM with the headline "New charter school secures location at former Macon elementary school ."