Meetings scheduled to get feedback on school plans

Three public meetings are planned — one at each of Alleghany’s three primary schools — to obtain citizen feedback on school plans. Those meetings were finalized Monday night, but it was not clear as of presstime if both county commissioners and school officials would be present.

The first of the three meetings will be held on April 5 at 6:30 p.m. at Sparta Elementary School. The second meeting has been scheduled for April 7 at 6 p.m. at Piney Creek School and the third has been set at Glade Creek School on April 11 at 6 p.m.

The latter community meeting dates are tentative, according to Superintendent Duane Davis.

“Are we going to have the architects at these meetings?” asked board member Faron Atwood. He added that he didn’t want anyone to feel “slighted” with the absence of the architect’s expertise.

Vice chair Clarence Crouse said the board should gather information that may be needed at the meeting. “We should have information of enrollment patterns,” he said. “Principals can share the new programs added at their schools. They can also share how the (state mandated) class size reduction has affected their school.”

In discussing the matter, board member Betsy Dillon was asked to pen the items that would affect the school system at the beginning of the school year, as requested by the commissioners at the March 22 meeting.

After the discussion, the list was given to Davis. These items included learning more of what is best for the More at Four program; speaking with Maintenance Supervisor Donald Reeves to get more information about the sewer and water situations at Glade Creek and Piney Creek schools; revisiting long-term class needs, new programs and new programs that have already been implemented; learning what impact the new programs have had on the space needs at each school; listing enrollment patterns; listing immediate facility needs to open the fall of 2005; and garnering more information on pros and cons of a new middle school. Davis later noted that this list is not limited to the items discussed at the meeting.

Joines asked Davis to invite school architects Frank Williams and Randy Baker of Pinnacle Architecture in Matthews to attend the community meetings.

“It will be important to emphasize that these options are preliminary,” stated Atwood. “Like Charles said, by the time we are finished, there may be an Option Z. We don’t want to paint ourselves into a corner.”

Discussing Options

The school board discussed Monday night the possibility of continuing to consider their “Option A.” That option requires the purchase of the former Sara Lee Knit Products plant on Trojan Avenue. The former sewing plant has been vacant since it was closed by Spring Ford Knitwear several years ago.

Under this option, there are two possibilities, school plans show. The first is to have a Sparta Early Childhood Center in the former factory, which would include pre-kindergarten through second grade pupils, and a Sparta Intermediate Center in the existing SES buildings, serving third through eighth grades.

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