Stephens Co. BOE Backtracks; Cans Doubling Prices at Cannery

The Stephens County Board of Education decides to backtrack on a price hike at the cannery.

Thursday, board members voted 4-2 with 1 abstention to retract the doubling of prices at the cannery.

Last week, the Stephens County Board of Education voted unanimously to double prices at the cannery.

However, school board member Jim Bellamy said he now feels that was a hasty decision.

“After thinking about it and talking with some other people and talking with (former Stephens County High School agriculture teacher Ferman) Gregory, that would have been actually a death blow to the cannery to double the prices,” said Bellamy.

Last week, school system staff told the board that if no changes were made to prices and everything stayed the same with sales and costs, the cannery is on pace to lose $45,000 this year.

Meanwhile, if prices at the cannery were doubled and everything else stays just as it is, that deficit drops to about $7,000.

School board member David Fricks said the school system cannot continue to lose money at the cannery while looking at cuts everywhere else.

“We have spent a tremendous amount of time on this,” said Fricks. “My mind goes back to the furlough days that we are putting our teachers through and then we are wanting to subsidize a cannery that our students do not use.”

However, board member Jeff Webb pointed out that there are people who depend on the cannery.

As part of Bellamy’s motion, the agriculture teachers in the school system will be in charge of the cannery and are to come back next month to the school board with things like a suggested price structure.

Bellamy said he is hopeful that the ag teachers can make it all work.

“I think they are excited about that and take it and make it successful,” said Bellamy. “If they can just make it break even, that is what we are looking for.”

Board members Bellamy, Jim Ledford, Jeff Webb, and Tony Crunkleton voted for the motion to rescind the doulbing of prices.

Board members David Fricks and Dr. Elizabeth Pinkerton voted against it, while Rodney Moore Jr. abstained.

He said he had mixed emotions about the cannery discussion and did not feel comfortable taking a vote.