McDonough High School Makes Goals Concrete with Slab Pour

McDONOUGH, Ga. — For the uninitiated, the term “slab pour” may sound like a cocktail party of Stone Age people. For those at McDonough High School in Henry County, Ga., however, the term is a reason to celebrate as a crew will soon fill in concrete between new foundation blocks.

“Then the masons can get started,” Project Superintendent Burt Brown told the South Metro Neighbor, a local news service.

The masons in question are general contractor MEJA Construction Inc. of Peachtree City, Ga., whose work is being paid for by a $225 million education special purpose local option sales tax approved by voters in 2016. Of that amount, nearly $75 million is allocated for the high school and its feeder middle school at about $52.4 million and $22.7 million, respectively.

Managing the finances is the district’s Assistant Superintendent for Financial Services Jeff Allie, who was recognized in November by the Georgia Association of School Business Officials as an “Outstanding School Business Official” for his “professionalism, leadership and innovation in the field of school business management.”

With its slab pouring scheduled for mid-December 2017, McDonough High School will be the first Henry County school to mark the important milestone. In total, Henry County Schools is comprised of 50 separate learning institutions, ranging from elementary schools to high schools with a handful of on-campus “academies” to boot.

Also on the MEJA Construction docket is preparation of the upcoming McDonough Middle School and its comprehensive sports complex, which includes a football stadium, softball fields and a baseball diamond as well as tennis courts. The company is a full-service commercial contractor marketing its services in the Atlanta and Middle Georgia region to commercial, industrial and institutional clients. The company’s previous projects for Henry County Schools include Walnut Creek Elementary School, Hampton High School and Eagle’s Landing High School. Brown will also oversee the upcoming middle school project as its project superintendent.

Besides hitting rock while building out a retention pond for stormwater runoff and dealing with de-stumping a previously wooded field, Brown doesn’t expect any future challenges with the pending projects.