Stephens BOE Expected To Vote on Eastanollee Elementary Tonight

The Stephens County Board of Education is expected to take the vote later today on whether or not to close Eastanollee Elementary School.

Today’s school board meeting starts at 5:30 p.m. at the Tugaloo Center for the Performing Arts at Stephens County High School.

During its meeting, the Board of Education is expected to vote on whether or not to adopt a budget reduction plan proposed by Stephens County School Superintendent Bryan Dorsey for Fiscal Year 2016.

Under the current budget reduction plan, the school system would close Eastanollee Elementary School and re-structure grades Pre-K through Five.

That re-structuring, if approved, would take effect for the 2015-2016 school year and would close Eastanollee Elementary, then move all Pre-K and Kindergarten classes to Big A Elementary School, 1st and 2nd grade classes to Liberty Elementary School, and 3rd and 4th grade classes to Toccoa Elementary School, while 5th grade classes would move to Stephens County Middle School in a separate 5th Grade Academy.

Dorsey says the plan would also result in a net reduction in force of about 24.5 positions and a savings of approximately $1.9 million.

He says $1.7 million of that savings would come through personnel and athletic cost savings, with only about $200,000 worth of the savings coming from cost reduction in operations.

The budget reduction plan and Eastanollee Elementary School are not the only thing on the agenda for the school board meeting.

Among other things, the school board is also expected to consider approval of a 2015-2016 school calendar.

AM 630 WNEG and wnegradio.com will broadcast today’s Stephens County Board of Education meeting from the Tugaloo Center starting at 5:30 p.m.