GADSDEN COUNTY, Fla. (WTXL) - Last night, the Gadsden County School Board held the second of seven community meetings about reconfiguration.
Quincy residents voiced strong opposition to the potential closing of St. John Elementary School. But the chairman of the school board offered an option that they seemed to agree with.
It's actually an option the board discussed years ago when the district went from four high schools to two.
The board chair says the next step was to build a new school in between Gretna and St. John Elementary.
This option is part of board chair Isaac Simmons' reconfiguration plan which hasn't really been talked about at these meetings.
So, how much would it cost to build a new school?
Clearly, we're talking about millions of dollars but the district would need to consider several factors, including finding property and the costs to design and construct the facility.
It also involves adding operating costs and administrative costs but Simmons says a new school would be a fair compromise for the community.
Simmons says the district would need to apply for "Special Facility Funding" this year. In his proposal, he estimates it will take two years to build the new school but the district hasn't identified exactly where it would be.
It will be interesting to see if this idea picks up steam in the next community meeting.
That's Monday night at Chattahoochee Elementary.
