Board of Education seeks funding for middle school

The possibilities of a potential middle school were discussed Aug. 29 during a meeting of the board of education and the principals of the four county schools.

The talk was based around hopes of the schools receiving funds from the county after learning of recent legislation that was passed in the general assembly. The legislation would give counties the option of putting a .4 percent land transfer tax or a .25 cent local sales tax up for a referendum (countywide vote). According to

Superintendent Jeff Cox, should the land transfer tax be up for a referendum and pass, it could bring as much as $400,000 a year to the county, while the local sales tax, if put up for a referendum and passed, could bring as much as $200,000 to the county. This is in addition to the estimated $500,000 guaranteed per year that counties in the state are expected to receive after the general assembly opted to phase out the Medicaid burden currently borne by local governments.

Cox told the board and principals, "Obviously the funding has been the single biggest impediment of moving forward.

Schools air safety concerns

During an Aug. 29 discussion between the Alleghany County Board of Education and the four county school principals, a number of school safety concerns were aired for each school.

Each principal presented a list of his top five concerns. As a whole, the safety concerns surrounded a need to better protect the students, as well as a need for better communication throughout the school buildings to help the effort.

After the discussion, Piney Creek Principal Mike Edwards summarized, "It goes back to (the fact) these are community schools and people (are used to) going in and going out. But times have changed and we just can't allow that.
 

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