Dodgen Middle is due a $13.5 million renovation: new HVAC, a new roof and a security vestibule, finished by July 2028. The contract went to the Cobb school board Oct. 15.
Dodgen Middle School is in line for a $13.5 million renovation. The work covers new heating and air conditioning, a new roof and a security vestibule at the front entrance.
The contract was on the Cobb County Board of Education’s agenda for its Thursday, Oct. 15, meeting. The superintendent recommended awarding it to Bowen & Watson Inc. of Toccoa, Georgia, at a cost of $13,531,000. The details are in the board’s Oct. 15 agenda packet, agenda item 6.
Dodgen Middle, at 1725 Bill Murdock Road, serves about 1,250 students in sixth through eighth grade, according to the school’s about page.
What the renovation includes
The agenda item lists this scope:
- heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) improvements
- a roof replacement
- selective door replacement
- selective flooring replacement
- selective site repairs
- a security vestibule
Substantial completion is set for July 2028, the agenda item said. That is the summer before the 2028-29 school year.
The project has been in planning for more than a year. In August 2025, the board’s agenda for Aug. 21, 2025 recommended LS3P Associates Ltd. of Atlanta as the architect. That item described a wider design brief, including front entry security, a roof for the annex building, new quarry tile in place of epoxy floors and a new fire alarm system.
Who pays
The money comes from Ed-SPLOST VI, the special-purpose local-option sales tax for education. The agenda item marks the contract as budgeted under that program.
Dodgen is the largest of seven construction contracts on the Oct. 15 agenda, which together come to about $31.1 million. One of the others is in East Cobb: new canopies at the main entrances of East Side Elementary, Cheatham Hill Elementary and Palmer Middle. That contract went to Oak Construction Company of Atlanta for $983,000, with completion due by July 2027, according to agenda item 5.
The other five, from the same agenda packet:
| Project | Contractor | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Lewis Elementary renovations | SRS Inc., Griffin, Georgia | $5,019,000 |
| Powder Springs Elementary renovations | Graphite Construction LLC, Cartersville, Georgia | $4,765,383 |
| McClure Middle roof replacement | SRS Inc., Griffin, Georgia | $3,699,000 |
| 580 Glover Street HVAC replacement | Ward Humphrey Inc., Marietta | $2,262,500 |
| Canopies at Argyle, Hollydale and Sanders elementary schools | Nix-Fowler Constructors Inc., Villa Rica, Georgia | $791,129 |
What it means for you
- The agenda item gives no start date for work at the school, only the July 2028 completion target. Families should watch for notices from the school.
- The board’s official record of the vote is its minutes, which are approved at the next meeting. We will update this story when they are posted on the board’s agenda portal.
- Questions about the work can go to the Dodgen front office at 770-578-2726 or the district at 770-426-3300.
- Zone, report card and bell times for the school are on our Dodgen Middle School page. Every East Cobb school is on our public schools page.
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