• By Todd Luck
• Posted Monday, August 19, 2019

First two schools from 2016 bonds will open for new school year

A brand new Konnoak Elementary School and a new combined Paisley IB Magnet and Lowrance Middle schools will welcome students this school year, thanks to voter-approved school bonds.

The Forsyth County commissioners placed a $350 million school bond referendum on the ballot in 2016, which was approved by an overwhelming majority of voters. These two schools are the first major projects to be completed from those bonds.

Forsyth County commissioners toured both schools this summer as construction was being completed. Commissioners were very impressed with these new, modern facilities.

“From my perspective, this is a source of pride,” said County Commissioner Chair Dave Plyler about the new high tech classrooms.

Konnoak Elementary School is a $19 million, 102,000 square foot facility that is adjacent to the former school. Many classrooms contain demountable walls that will allow teachers to use full height marker boards and magnetic panels. The new school will also have collaboration areas for each grade level.

Paisley-Lowrance houses two schools under one roof: Paisley, which is an International Baccalaureate school for grades 6-10, and Lowrance, which is a special needs middle school that was formerly housed at Atkins High School. Both schools will be housed in a $47 million, 224,000 square foot facility built on the site previously used for PE and athletics at Paisley with classroom wings occupying the area of the former high school.

The new Paisley-Lowrance integrates the two school populations with common areas like dining, circulation and office space. Each school will have their own gym. The facility also contains a 320 seat auditorium that will allow Paisley to highlight its Arts program, and a fully furnished apartment with a kitchen, living room, bedroom and bathroom for teaching living skills to Lowrance students.

To view pictures of the commissioners’ tour of Konnoak, click here. For pictures from their Paisley-Lowrance, click here.