A few months ago, Henry County School System communications director J.D. Hardin was sitting in his truck in the parking lot of the former Patrick Henry Academy campus in downtown Stockbridge (the original Stockbridge High School for those who are old enough to remember) when someone tapped on his window.

  “May I help you?” he asked.

  “Can we go inside?”

  It was a family from Ohio, on vacation, who wanted to see some of the familiar interior settings from the hit Netflix series “Stranger Things.” Hardin had to politely decline their request, although he pointed out some exterior spots on the campus that the fans might recognize.

  Four years ago the Henry County Board of Education had made the decision to board up this property, which had asbestos and other issues, because it seemed the $7 million needed for renovations could be better spent elsewhere. Now the words “Hawkins Middle School” adorn the outside of one of the aging buildings, and the production company behind that fictitious Indiana school has spent tens of thousands of dollars to spruce up the property in certain areas – paving an entire parking lot and renovating a portion of the football stadium while painting several hallways inside the building.

  The fact that so much of the facility is dated actually made it appealing to producers of the 1980s-era show. When they saw the giant Tiger mural inside the gym, they decided to make the Hawkins mascot the Tigers so nothing would have to be changed, Hardin said. “They liked the color schemes and it didn’t impact the storylines so they decided to go with it.”

  In 2015 the school board approved a deal to allow the producers to film the first season of “Stranger Things” on the site for about $75,000. After the show became a hit, they came back for a second season at roughly the same cost. While reaping just over $150,000 for its use, the school system has been able to allow production companies to shoot at the same facility at different times.

  The third season of “Stranger Things,” which was dropped on Netflix in early July, contains no scenes at the school because the storyline takes place over summer break. Producers transformed Gwinnett Place Mall in Duluth into a fictional shopping center for the bulk of those episodes.

  One episode of the FX series “Atlanta” was shot at the old Patrick Henry campus, using the back side of the building behind the cafeteria as well as some hallways. The school board’s agreement with the “Stranger Things” producers allowed for other companies to use the site as long as the schedules didn’t conflict.

  Most recently, the CW series “Legacies” has a deal in place that the school board approved last week. The cost is $7,000 for one month of access, although Hardin said they might only be on the property a few days during that time. The district charges a daily rate as well as a monthly rate.

  But filming on school campuses is not confined to that location. An episode of the CBS series “McGuyver” included scenes filmed at Henry County High School. The feature film “Pom,” starring Diane Keaton, shot at Hampton High School and used some of Ola High School’s cheerleaders for a scene, Hardin said.

  Now Hardin gives regular tours of the various school locations, as many as five in one week during the past year. The first visit is usually by a location scout, while followup visits can include representatives from nearly every facet of filmmaking, arriving as a group in a limo bus.

  Revenue generated from filming goes into the district’s general fund, not to the individual schools. Sometimes a production company will cut a separate check to a school as a thank-you, Hardin said. All productions are organized so that the real-life students at each school are not negatively impacted.

  As for school uses of the property, the old Patrick Henry site was, for a while, a transportation hub and it is still used for overnight parking of buses as well as a fueling station. Officials still use a small part of one of the buildings for professional learning and development.

  The district hasn’t done any kind of advertising or intentional promotion of its facilities for the entertainment industry. But that is a close-knit group and when a site is used successfully, other companies find out quickly, as Hardin pointed out. “It doesn’t take long for word of mouth to spread.”