In a 5-1 vote Monday night, Feb. 22, the Anson County Board of Education voted to move forward with plans for the construction of a new high school.

Robbie Ferris with SFL+A Architects appeared before the board to present a plan for the possible design and construction of a new Anson High School building. Ferris said he was last before the board in 2008, but at that time, the board didn't feel ready to pay the hefty price tag for a new school. With low interest rates and "historically low" construction costs, Ferris said he felt now was the best time to move forward with a new high school project.

In his presentation, he painted the new 175,000-square-foot high school building as not just for staff and students, but for the entire community. The design, which has been used most recently at Clinton High School in Sampson County, would feature a central atrium, as well as a gym and auditorium that could all be used for community events after school hours.

"All the schools we've done like this— many of them; in fact, most of them— are in rural communities," Ferris said, adding that the atrium could also be used for the prom and other dances.

"in all the schools we've done, the students have opted to have their prom in the school," he said. "That's a pretty significant change. How many schools have their proms in the school?"

He later added that a feature such as an atrium may seem out of the county's price range, but, "a lot of people think they can't afford an atrium, but you can't afford not to have one."

Ferris went on to list the cost savings to the county. If, for example, he said, the county constructed a separate public library, public auditorium and public rec center, it could potentially save $12.6 million by using the new high school facilities.

The overall price tag for the new school would total $37.7 million. The county would lease the land and the building to SFL+A over a 40-year period. "When our land lease is up, the building that we own is on your land so you simply take possession of the building," Ferris explained.

The lease payment for the county would be $1,527,000 per year, which does not include utilities or operating costs. That would be paid for through a combination of funding sources, Ferris said, including $1.1 million in retired debt from the county, and about $213,500 each from ADM bonds and lottery funds. Two years ago, he added, because 40-year leases were not available, the payment was $3,476,000, "which I guess is why we stopped talking."

The next step for the school board, Ferris said, is to get the county commissioners on board and then try to secure the financing. If the commissioners give their OK, the design process could begin in April, construction could start in the summer and the school could open in January or February of 2012. If there are construction delays, the school could open that August.

There were some questions about demolition of the current high school. The board members agreed that some of the buildings could still be used by the county, with the new school probably being in the center of the campus.

School board member Michael Livingston asked how long the school board has been paying the $1.1 million in retired debt, and was told about 25 years. After a brief discussion, the board voted 5-1, with Livingston opposed, to move forward with the plans to try to procure financing for the new high school building. School board members Daniel Wilson, Beulah Pratt and Leon Gatewood were absent.

Suspensions decrease at most schools

Executive director for Individual and Organizational Accountability Michael McLeod gave a discipline report for Jan. 19-Feb.12, which showed a decrease in the number of suspensions for most schools.

"For the year, we have a big difference in where we were last year," McLeod said, pointing out that Ansonville Elementary and Anson Academy were the only schools with a marked increase.

"We may have some kids that are having some behavior that's typical for them, but it's not typical for what should be done in school," he explained. "So we're trying to work on getting them an outlet for some of those behaviors."

Most of the time at the elementary level, it's classified as aggressive behavior. "We'd like to have some of that aggressive behavior carried out in the gym or in recess areas," McLeod said, adding that aggressive behavior usually means pushing, shoving or hitting. Disruptive behavior would be "cutting up in class," like being loud.

"The thing that I am delighted with is that the numbers are coming down," McLeod said. "But again, we still see some behaviors that we're trying to address."

Other business

After an in-depth description from board member Dr. Altheria Patton on an ombudsman program near Atlanta, the school board decided to authorize Superintendent Dr. Greg Firn to study implementing a similar program in Anson County Schools.

The ombudsman program would aim to keep at-risk kids from dropping out of school through having four-hour class sessions outside of a school campus setting.

Firn said he will consider the work of the current Anson Academy in his study and will report back to the board at the March meeting.

The board also heard from Transportation director Corey Davis, who reported that funding for school buses is going down every year, as is the number of students riding the bus. Firn added that the school system might consider a marketing campaign to get more kids on the buses that explains how important funding is.

The board also approved various budget amendments, as well as new kindergarten early admission rules and goals from Anson Academy.

The Board of Education will next meet on Monday, March 29, at 6:30 p.m. at Ansonville Elementary School.