Board retreat spotlights long-range facilities plan; Bull Street, Savannah High and underutilized sites prioritized

District leaders opened day two of the Savannah-Chatham County Public School System board retreat by linking facilities planning to the district’s strategic and financial goals and presenting a draft long-range facilities plan (LRFP).

“Unlimited possibilities do not require unlimited space,” Capital Projects presenter Megan Davidson told board members as she outlined three LRFP priorities — student needs, employee needs and community expectations — and a schedule for the five‑year state submission and defense process. Davidson said the LRFP draws on a facilities condition assessment and other products and will include updated boundary analyses and a 2027 facilities condition update.

Davidson walked the board through conceptual programming for 208 Bull Street (the central office site) that included a board room, limited administrative footprint, green-screen/media spaces and classrooms; a plan to use Savannah High School as an "academic administration hub" housing the office of school leadership and instructional excellence; continuing administrative functions at Port Wentworth; and Hopkins Street as a capital programs hub. She emphasized administrative adjacency — grouping Finance with HR, instructional leadership together, and operations together — as a means to improve efficiency.

Board members responded with a mix of enthusiasm and caution. Several members urged greater student presence downtown, arguing for classrooms and maker space in basements rather than storage, while others warned that downtown parking, safety and transportation would constrain a larger student footprint. "I don't like the idea of administration and a school being in the same building," one member said, citing concerns about school day disruptions. Another board member urged that any sales of district property be treated cautiously because "once you sell it, you can't take it back."

Financial constraints surfaced repeatedly. Staff said money has been carved out for administrative space at both Savannah High and 208 Bull Street but that upgrades to some other sites (for example Hopkins) lack funding, and that removing or reducing leases (such as a short-term Georgia Tech lease) requires ready-to-move-in alternatives. Davidson cautioned that building a parking deck for Bull Street was "an exorbitant amount of money" and said early planning assumes a limited number of staff on-site to manage parking demand.

The presentation also previewed how underutilized elementary schools could be reprogrammed for special education or Pre‑K space, and how sales or repurposing of assets (e.g., Whitney or other sites) might generate funds to reinvest in critical renovations. Staff noted legal and timing constraints around charters’ access to unused district facilities if those sites remain empty and off the long-range plan for two years.

What’s next: Staff asked the board for feedback on a set of “guardrails” to apply objectively when weighing reuse, renovation or disposal; they expect to return with an updated LRFP briefing in February and community engagement work on specific sites (Schuman/Stem Academy and others) to begin in the coming weeks.

Source: board retreat presentation and discussion. The board’s request for clearer parking analysis, more explicit equity guardrails and a timetable for lease decisions are among items staff said they will return with for follow-up.