Stephens Co. BOE Tables EO Foundation Lease Until July

The Stephens County Board of Education will take up a proposed new lease with the Evan Oglesby Foundation for the old Toccoa High School gym next month.

Tuesday, the school board voted to table the item and remove it from Tuesday’s meeting agenda.

Board members had discussed the lease with Oglesby on Thursday at a work session.

However, board chair Tony Crunkleton said he did not want any final votes taken without the full board having the chance to be present.

Oglesby, a Toccoa native and former NFL player, currently leases the old gym on Pond Street and uses it for his E.O. Foundation Center.

He currently has a lease for $1 a year with the Stephens County school system, but says he wants a long-term lease in order to help in his effort to apply for grants in order to make further upgrades to the facility and protect his investment in the facility through the upgrades he has already made.

In December, the school board agreed to a 30-year lease through 2046.

However, the financial terms of the lease remain under discussion.