Buford City Schools, like most districts in the area, has experienced a rise in the number of students enrolled in the school system. For the 2023-24 school year, BCS has grown to serve just over 5,870 students in its five schools.
In 2021-22, the district had an enrollment of 5,759 students and has grown by roughly 118 students or 2% in two years.
To keep up with the district’s enrollment growth, the district has undertaken expansion projects at several of the schools. Buford Middle School converted the old field house into new classrooms and Buford Senior Academy is currently undergoing construction of a new addition to the rear of the building.
The rise in enrollment numbers has also translated into growth for the school system’s transportation department. The department is responsible for getting 2,810 students to and from school daily. Several bus routes have been added over the years and the current bus lot that is situated behind Tom Riden Stadium is bursting at the seams.
The bus lot recently had a modification done to allow the buses to better enter and exit the lot. The buses were having to back out of the lot due to it being so full.
The district has a new bus lot in the works to help the situation as the modification to the current lot would not solve the long-term overcrowding issue. The land has been acquired at 820 Railroad Street to house the new bus lot. Construction of the new bus lot is still several years away as the district wishes to wrap up current projects like the new stadium.
The plans for the new bus lot were announced at the Buford Board of Education’s monthly meeting held on August 21 at the Buford City Schools Central Office.
During that meeting, Laura Beth Waycaster, the Assistant Superintendent of Student Achievement went over the preliminary Georgia Milestones data which showed that BCS students who took the tests performed well above the state average. She also went over Advanced Placement testing results. The school district pays the costs associated with taking the advanced placement exams, which is something that Gwinnett County Public Schools makes the students pay for.
Other information announced at the August meeting included:
- The retirement of Buford Senior Academy Principal Kaleen Pulley. Her retirement is effective at the end of the first semester of the current school year. There has been no word on a potential replacement for her as of yet.
- Also retiring is BSA Front Office Receptionist Kristie McKinney.
- Each school’s principal gave their monthly report which focused mainly on back-to-school activities including their curriculum nights and testing to determine each student’s learning levels.
- This year’s Homecoming Week will be September 11-15. The Homecoming parade will be at 3 p.m. on Friday, September 15. Tailgating will take place at Buford Elementary School from 4 to 6 p.m. on Friday. The Homecoming game will begin at 7:30 p.m. with Homecoming Court festivities at half-time. Buford plays Carver (Atlanta) that night.
Buford City Schools budget pay requests were approved for:
- BMS addition/renovation project in the amount of $1,341,249.00 to Charles Black Construction Company
- BSA addition project in the amount of $1,176,162.00 to Charles Black Construction Company
- BMS addition/renovation project in the amount of $8,325.86 to H. Lloyd Hill Architects & Associates, Inc
- Buford bus parking lot modification in the amount of $71,869.00 to Charles Black Construction Company
- BMS furniture payable to Krueger International, Inc. totaling $221,961.24
- Signage for the BHS Athletic Building in the amount of $18,246.50
- BHS weight room equipment totaling $39,604.05
- Kitchen equipment for Buford Middle School for $33,628.81
Pay requests that the City of Buford pays for were told as informational items only and those included:
- An invoice to Charles Black Construction Company in the amount of $1,469,984.00 for the new BHS stadium project
- An invoice to Breaux & Associates Architects for $234,293.69 that is also for the new BHS stadium project
The next meeting for the Buford Board of Education will be on September 18, 2023, at 7 p.m. at the Buford City Schools Central Office located at 2625 Sawnee Ave.
