Dirt is now moving at the College and Career Academy construction site at Dawson County High School after city, county and school officials gathered to celebrate a milestone in local education with a groundbreaking Sept. 10.

“We’re creating high quality secondary and post-secondary options in this building and it’s going to serve generations of students in Dawson County so we’re very proud of that fact,” Superintendent Damon Gibbs said.

The board of education, Robertson Loia Roof architecture engineers, Carroll Daniel Construction representatives, the Dawson County Chamber of Commerce, representatives from Dawson County High School and Lanier Technical College gathered at the site of the future career academy on the corner of Hwy. 53 and Perimeter Road to commemorate the start of the construction phase.

“I really want to say a special thank you to the community of Dawson County for supporting our Education Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax. Our ESPLOST referendum is the one cent sales tax that makes this project possible,” Gibbs said. “What you are going to see over the next 12 months are ESPLOST dollars hard at work.”

Dawson County citizens voted in favor of the ESPLOST referendum four years ago and collections have made the new $7 million facility a reality.

The career academy will have labs for early childhood education, culinary arts, construction and engineering and technology, business and computer science labs, healthcare science lab and a broadcast and video production studio.

It will also house post-secondary courses for dual enrollment students to have easy access to college classes and eliminate the issue of transportation.

The College and Career Academy will open in the fall 2019.