MOULTRIE, Ga. — Discussions of the possible relocation of C.A. Gray Junior High School dominated the beginning of Monday night’s Board of Education meeting. 

The idea of relocating the school was broached in a public meeting Feb. 1. Altman & Barrett architects had performed a facilities evaluation to identify priorities for the school system. The architects’ assessment was that C.A. Gray needs to be replaced, either by tearing down the existing structure and building a new school on the same site or by building a completely new campus elsewhere. Knowing the school system owns land around Colquitt County High School on Darbyshire Road, the architects suggested placing the new C.A. Gray school there.

However, as speakers pointed out to the school board during Monday’s meeting, part of that land is already occupied.

Nancy Riley, a concerned parent, told the board the Colquitt County High School Agri-science Farm is located across Darbyshire Road from the high school, exactly where Altman & Barrett’s proposal draws in the new C.A. Gray. 

“Last week it was made abundantly clear that the board knows the ag community’s opinion and the possibility of it being built on the ag farm… I believe there was no mistake in The Moultrie Observer’s description of the CCHS ag farm when they called it ‘vacant.’ The reason I believe this is because obviously the architectural firm was led to believe the same thing by the board,” Riley said. 

She said she had previously met with Superintendent Ben Wiggins on Feb. 17 stating that “no other program had the rendering drawn on top of their facilities.”

“I do not understand why this school board would present an idea to this community that blatantly shows their lack of comprehension of the importance of the agri-science farm for the entire school system and community as a whole,” Riley said. 

She said other promises have been made to the agriculture educational community in the past that have not been “followed through.”

“The ag department has been led to believe for far too many years that they would be provided the resources they need to improve and support their classroom instruction… This board looks like those that have come before. They have a plan in mind and would like the community to fall behind with little to no negative feedback and no plans to follow through on promises made to me or the ag department,” Riley said.

She cited an article published in The Observer in 2007 in which the board at that time planned to build an agriscience center on the farm. The article was describing planned uses for a proposed Education Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax, which voters approved in February 2008. More than $791,000 of that tax was to be dedicated to that facility, the article said.

“What I have yet to discover prior to this meeting is where this three quarter of a million dollar facility currently sits or otherwise where that money was spent,” Riley concluded.

Following Riley’s comments board chair Robby Pitts stated that the board typically “does not respond” to community members who share their thoughts to the board but he considered it “of the utmost importance” to care for their agri-business departments. He then left the floor to board member Jon Schwalls of the second district. 

“I hear your position,” Schwalls told Riley. “I do not speak to the board’s thoughts but I will speak on a couple things you said. To me there was total ignorance about the land across the high school being dedicated for anything… I didn’t know anybody on this board that knew anything about that.”

Schwalls said the facilities review was part of the board’s effort to establish a long-term plan for its buildings.

“In the presentation they [Altman & Barrett] showed they looked at the plots of the land that the district owns and went ‘oh here’s a good spot’ and just dropped it there like that,” Schwalls said. “The role of them is to show up and tell us what was wrong and what we’d have to do and then we would come back and say, ‘Ok here’s what we want to do.’ Nobody was saying ‘let’s build a school’ or ‘let’s build a school there.’ We certainly have not put any plans in place. That’s where the situation is.”

He also stated that the announcement had caused what he described as a “fever pitch” and that he had quickly “got educated” on the history of the agricultural program concerning Riley’s comments of broken promises by the board to the ag community. He also stated that the board would not make a decision without the consideration and commentary “both good and bad” from the community. 

The district is updating its social media and website regarding the proposal to move C.A. Gray as well as the other recommendations made by Altman & Barrett. The district first posted links to informational documents concerning the project on its Facebook page Feb. 7. The page has the entire presentation from Feb. 1 available as Youtube and Google Video links, and it has a frequently asked questions document and a community feedback survey link. All are still available on the website. 

The district will host a second facilities planning informational meeting at 6 p.m. March 10 at C.A. Gray Junior High. It will be a public presentation of Altman & Barrett’s proposals, not only the rebuilding of C.A. Gray but also renovations at Willie J. Williams Middle School and the rebuilding of Norman Park Elementary School. 

Following Schwalls’ comments, board member Trudie Hill of the first district stated she “has not and has never been” in favor of moving C.A. Gray from its current location.

“When the concept came about in regards to Charlie A. Gray, and I must say, I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again to the board a couple of times… Charlie A. Gray is a place that has been a vital part of this community… It has been a fixture there. When that proposal was made, I was and have always been against it. Charlie A. Gray is a lifeline to this community, point blank… Charlie A. Gray was named after a distinguished and respected teacher of that time. Everything has been removed from that community… It needs to remain there. We have to find an alternative to moving Charlie A. Gray. I understand about not enough acreage but some adjustments need to be made,” Hill stated.

Hill also said she supports Riley and her statements regarding the current CCHS Agri-science Farm’s location.

“I am in support of that place remaining as it is because if you move an establishment there, build a school there, you are taking away from the students. You don’t want to do that. We shouldn’t do that,” Hill explained.

Following the board meeting, Colquitt County School District chief communications coordinator Angela Hobby told The Observer that the question right now is only “Does C.A. Gray need to be moved?”

“That’s the only question the board is concerned about currently,” Hobby said. “Once it is established if it needs to be moved, then and only then will a decision of where it will be moved be made. The board is also not going to make any decisions regarding the facilities until we have heard from the community.”

After hearing the comments about the future of C.A. Gray, the board unanimously accepted many items on its agenda, including a substitute teacher bonus payment. 

This payment comes from an excess of 1,413 classroom vacancies that were not filled from August 2021 to January 2022, according to the documents submitted by CCSD chief finance officer Jeremy Jones. 

“Our district’s substitutes have not been eligible for any retention supplement or bonus pay that district employees have received this school year,” Jones’ recommendation stated. 

Subs who had covered classes for the district are now eligible for an extra $15 per day that they have worked in the system throughout the school year. The board did not discuss when those payments would be made. 

Board vice chairman Mary Beth Watson of District 3 also stated the board should “look into” the possibility of implementing a buyback program for personal days that were not used by district employees at the end of each school year.

The board also approved updating policies for sex education and awarding units and transferring credits. This was first introduced at the board’s previous meeting on Jan. 27 by Marni Kirkland, assistant superintendent of curriculum and instruction, to accurately reflect standards placed by the state.

The board also approved six field trips:

1. CCHS special education senior to Orlando, Fla. in April. 
2. C.A. Gray Anime Club to Jacksonville, Fla., on March 12.
3. Odom Elementary fifth grade students extended day trip to Marianna, Fla. on March 10.
4. Williams Middle School IMPACT Club extended day trip to Atlanta in March.
5. Williams Middle Fellowship of Christian Athletes Club extended day trip to Tallahassee, Fla., in March.
6. Williams Middle Seventh grade STEM Team extended day trip to Atlanta in March.

During the work session many recognitions were made including the 2022 STAR Student and Teacher; Funston Elementary and C.A. Gray and their respective Packer Business Partners of the Month, Jay Strickland Motors and Heritage Church; and the diving and wrestling teams.