For Immediate Release
Contact: Kerry Minster
706.454.1562
kerry.minster@lakeoconeeacademy.org
LAKE OCONEE ACADEMY TO BEGIN CONSTRUCTION OF PERMANENT HIGH SCHOOL CAMPUS
LOA Foundation Capital Campaign Funds to Enhance Construction Project
Greensboro, Ga. (November 13, 2016) - The Lake Oconee Academy (LOA) Foundation, Inc. has met all general conditions for approval from the United Sates Department of Agriculture (USDA) Community Facilities Direct Loan Program for a direct loan to finance the $18 million expansion of the LOA high school campus. The USDA program provides affordable funding to develop essential community facilities in rural areas.
The LOA Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to raising funds to enrich the educational experience of every LOA student, will upon completion enter into a long-term lease agreement with Lake Oconee Academy, Inc. This contractual relationship meets the specifications addressed in the charter renewal for self-funding future facilities expansions without drawing additional facilities funds from the school district.
The campus expansion includes two new buildings - one that will house administrative offices, 17 high school classrooms including two science labs, and a student center with a dining, study and gym facility for student activities. Land grading and construction are underway.
"We are very pleased to continue the vision of LOA as a place of educational excellence in rural Georgia with the expansion of the high school campus," said Betsy Peck, LOA Foundation Chairman. "This is a very exciting time for the current high school students, and all those who will follow in their footsteps."
In conjunction with securing the financing for the construction project, the LOA Foundation has successfully met its $2 million capital campaign goal in order to continue the learning environments which have made LOA a unique and successful school. The LOA Foundation would like to thank the hundreds of donors that contributed to reach the current total of $2.3 million in donations. The campaign is ongoing and naming opportunities are still available. The focus of campaign dollars will be on implementing up-to-date technology in the facility, creating an environment that fosters mobility and collaboration in the high school, incorporating state-of-the-art safety upgrades between the new facility and the original campus, and recreational green space.
"It will be extremely beneficial to our academic program to have a dedicated high school facility for students in grades nine through twelve," said Dr. Otho Tucker, CEO of Lake Oconee Academy. "In 2007, LOA started with 11 kindergarten students and now we have the opportunity to provide the highest quality education to over 900 students. We have been successful in accomplishing the mission that was put forth for LOA - to increase student achievement by building a culture of high expectations for all students. I am truly grateful for the support of the Greene County community and our school family over the past 11 years."
The Lake Oconee Foundation will host a groundbreaking for the new campus along with the LOA Parent Teacher Committee annual Titan Bash for LOA families and staff on Thursday, November 16, 2017.
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