A judge ruled today in favor of the Whitfield County Board of Education in a lawsuit filed by a concerned citizens group that wanted to stop construction of a new high school.

Last month, lawyers argued about whether taxpayer money set aside for educational purposes can be used to build the sewer system needed for a new school.

The Concerned Citizens of the Prater’s Mill Community does not want the new $58 million high school to be built near the historic 1855 landmark, which is on the National Register of Historic Places and is the location of tourism events such as arts and crafts festivals.

Peter Olson, the lawyer for the Concerned Citizens group, argued that the school board is violating Georgia’s Constitution by appropriating money for the sewer because it does not meet the state’s “educational purposes” standard for using taxpayer dollars, in part because the school would only use 3 percent of the new sewer’s capacity.

Stan Hawkins, the school system’s lawyer, argued that sewer construction falls in the educational purposes category since both sides agree that the sewer system is required to build and operate the school.

Superior Court Judge William T. Boyett today issued a decision that, in part, said “the court concludes that the expenditure of the funds by the Whitfield County School District is necessary for the construction, support and maintenance of the new proposed school. Such use is not prohibited by any statue cited by plaintiffs.”

See tomorrow’s Times Free Press for complete details.