Lesser work was done on Wyatt so the entire school and auditorium projects could be completed. The schools are part of county government and must get spending approval from the Board of Supervisors. The proposal is not on the list of county capital improvement program recommendations that was endorsed by the planning commission the night after the school plans were presented to the School Board. It will be discussed further, along with proposals that were recommended and those that weren't, as part of the county budget process in the coming months. The school administration is hoping to be able to transfer grades in either the fall of 2004 or 2005, depending on funding.
Questions remain to be answered before an exact timetable can be set.
One is what the General Assembly will do with Literary Fund money, which traditionally has been reserved for school construction but is being looked at for other projects. Another is what the outcome will be of a dispute between the school division and the general contractor on the elementary project. The school did not open when it was scheduled to, forcing the district to reopen the old Emporia Elementary and causing turmoil when the new school was opened in the middle of a semester. The contract called for penalties if the work was not done on time and the school division filed suit. A third unknown is whether the Board of Supervisors will agree to let the schools use money saved as debt payments reduce to pay for construction documents which must be completed before Literary Funds can be applied for.