Ground Broken on New Fannin County CTAE Facility, Paid for by SPLOST

Construction is officially underway on a new Career, Technical, and Agricultural Education (CTAE) facility for the Fannin County School System, Superintendent Shannon Dillard announced September 10. The building is being paid for entirely with SPLOST dollars, meaning the project won't add a cent to what local property owners already pay in taxes.

Dillard called the groundbreaking "more than a new building" in a message to families, saying it represents an investment in students, the local workforce and the future of Fannin County. The new facility is designed to put students in hands-on learning environments that look like the workplaces they'll walk into after graduation, with modern equipment and technology built into the design.

"When we invest in our students, we invest in the future of Fannin County," Dillard wrote, crediting the Fannin County Board of Education for making the project a priority.

The funding source matters as much as the building itself for many local families. SPLOST, the Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax, is money already collected through sales tax rather than a new charge on the property tax digest. Dillard specifically thanked the community for supporting the sales tax that makes the project possible without shifting costs onto homeowners.

What the new building means for students

CTAE programs cover fields like agriculture, health science, engineering, and skilled trades, the kind of coursework meant to lead directly into a job or an apprenticeship rather than requiring a four-year degree first. Dillard said the goal is for every graduate to leave the district "confident, experienced, and prepared for their next step," with a specific push to keep more of those graduates building careers in Fannin County instead of leaving the area for work.

The district has not released a total project cost, a completion date, or the exact site of the new building. Dillard's announcement frames the CTAE facility as one piece of a longer list of projects the district plans to fund through SPLOST in the coming years, as part of what she described as an ongoing effort to improve learning environments across the system.

The district released a video alongside the announcement highlighting current CTAE programs and the students who use them, which Dillard pointed to as the reason the project matters. Families looking for updates on construction progress or other SPLOST-funded projects can check the district's ongoing "ESPLOST Dollars at Work" updates on the Fannin County School System's website.

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Header photo: Thomson200 / Wikimedia Commons (CC0)