MOULTRIE — School renovation and construction projects at two elementary schools are set, but school officials must choose from three options at the high school, two of which would double the length of a proposed indoor training facility.

If Colquitt County School Board approves, the 100-yard multi-purpose indoor facility could add about $1.7 million to the estimated $3.5 million it would cost for a smaller version with 50 yards of field and 10-yard end zone.

That facility, other athletic improvements and additions, and five new special education classrooms make up the entirety of work under consideration at the high school, which opened in August 2015.

Colquitt County voters on March 1 approved a five-year extension of a 1-percent sales tax as well as the indoor facility, in a separate vote.

Athletic officials and Colquitt County School Board members pointed out that the facility would offer safety from lightning storms as well as extreme heat and cold.

While the cost would increase, other schools would not be shortchanged or have needed improvements cut, said Brad Gregory, assistant superintendent of finance with the school system.

Work at the two elementary schools also has expanded, with the original $1 million in projects at Doerun Elementary now estimated at up to $1.75 million, and Odom Elementary’s budget has grown from $4 million to about $4.25 million.

“It’s not taking anything away from their projects,” Gregory said.

One reason the additional projects are possible is in the way the school system is financing them, he said.

The school system financed previous construction by issuing bonds to get money up front and then paid them off using the special purpose local option sales tax money.

This time “a local bank is going to save us considerably on interest, to where we can actually do more towards construction,” Gregory said.

Construction and renovations are expected to cost about $19 million, and in addition will include new roofs at Sunset Elementary and at Withers Auditorium at the former high school campus on Park Avenue. At the auditorium, work also includes replacing stage rigging and some of the seats.

Once the work at the high school is completed, basically all of the athletic facilities will have been moved to the new campus.

All three options given to the board members include a track with a lighted artificial turf field the size of a regulation football field, a field house for athletic offices, and weight, locker and training rooms, schools Facilities Director Rick Gehle said. All also call for the additional special education classrooms.

The additions were part of the original school plans, but were cut due to lack of funds.

The first option is the original plan, with a two-story building attached to the gym to house the athletic facilities on the first floor and special education on the second, Gehle said.

The 50-yard indoor field is included in that option, while the other two include the 100-yard version.

The second and third options call for a single-story building for the athletic facilities and special education areas, Gehle said. In the second option, the multi-purpose indoor facility would be sited where the third soccer field currently is located, while the third would put that structure at the north end of the campus behind the student parking area.

Work at Doerun includes an addition to the cafeteria, kitchen and dining area.

At Odom the existing gym will be turned into a new cafeteria with a kitchen addition; the existing media center will be converted to a choir room and science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) laboratory; and the existing cafeteria and kitchen will be converted to a media center.

The Odom construction also includes a new gym building.

At both campuses the work includes painting, new flooring and tiling, and restroom renovations and additions. Both projects also include reworking front administrative areas to provide additional security.

The school system will hire a construction manager to coordinate the three projects, Gehle said. He expects that the Doerun project will take six to nine months, and 12 to 15 months each for Odom and the high school. Weather could impact the work schedule.

With tax receipts seeing a dip, the original $34 million the five-year estimate for tax receipts has been reduced to $26 million.

With the three major constructions projects expected to cost $19 million of the 1 percent special purpose tax proceeds, that would leave about $4 million to $6 million for work at the old high school campus, buses and technology, Gregory said.

The multipurpose indoor training facility has the potential for uses other than for athletics, band and cheerleading practice, Schools Superintendent Samuel DePaul said.

“The Special Olympics could have a big event,” he gave as an example. “We could host a regional Special Olympics.”