Scotland County commissioners reached a verbal agreement with the school board on funding for the Wagram Primary School expansion.

The commissioners did not make a formal decision at the meeting Thursday night. Instead, attorneys for the two boards will meet to create a proposal.

The county board wants language in the agreement that would require the school board to reduce its budget to make the $250,000 bond payments should state lottery moneys be decreased or withheld before the $3 million sum is paid off.

The county Board of Commissioners will meet Wednesday at 5 p.m. at the Scotland County Annex to discuss and vote on a final agreement.

The Scotland County School Board will also meet to approve the agreement, however no date has been set.

Deadline for the bond request is July 31.

The plan calls for an addition at the Wagram school to house the students from Shaw Primary School.

East Laurinburg Alternative School will then be moved to the Shaw campus and the East Laurinburg campus will be closed. Some school officials see the change as a way to cut costs, reduce overcrowding and improve academic achievement.

The $3 million initiative will be funded by zero interest loans from the Qualified School Construction Bonds Program, which is part of the Federal Stimulus Plan. The deadline for the loan application is July 31.

Approximately $275 million has been appropriated with North Carolina, with the state guaranteeing $1.5 million to the county. The funds can only be used for building, renovating or making additions to schools.