The Scotland County Board of Education voted unanimously to approve an agreement with the county on a new classroom wing to Wagram Elementary School.

School board members Mary Evans, Dr. Paul Rush and Terrence Williams were not present for the vote.

The plan calls for a $3 million addition to Wagram Primary that would accommodate fourth and fifth graders at Shaw Primary. The alternative school would then be moved to Shaw and the East Laurinburg campus would be closed.

The plan is to be paid for by a Qualified Schools Construction Bond, part of the Federal Stimulus Plan.

The federal government has allocated $275 million for North Carolina, with $1.5 million allocated for Scotland County. Friday is the application deadline for the bond.

School officials are hopeful that either other school systems won't apply for the bond so Scotland can get $3 million or that the bond program will be repeated next year and the addition can be built in steps.

The Scotland County Board of Commissioners endorsed the proposal with a memorandum of agreement with a list of five stipulations.

County officials say the requirements set by the board will prevent the county from taking on the burden of repaying the bond should the school system lose some state funding in the current budget crunch.

The county's five stipulations are:

• The two bodies designate unrestricted lottery revenues to make payments on the bond.

• If the lottery revenues are insufficient, the school board must pay the shortfall through reductions in other expenses.

• Any transfer from the current expense budget to the capital budget shall not reduce the base amount of the current expense for calculating funding for subsequent years unless otherwise approved by the school board and the county.

• The agreement will remain in affect until the bond is paid off.

• Future boards must comply with these stipulations.

The $3 million proposal is for a 20,000 square foot expansion at Wagram Primary School that includes 17 class rooms, four restrooms and several storage and mechanical rooms.

The expansion will also have a metal sloping roof and a brick exterior, both designed to match the existing building.

After the expansion is completed, the school system hopes to move the fourth and fifth graders from Shaw Primary to Wagram and house the 600 students under one roof.

Then the students of East Laurinburg Alternative School will be moved to the Shaw building, which has more facilities.

The East Laurinburg campus will then be closed.

The plan is a reversal of a school project in 2000 that moved Wagram's fourth and fifth graders to Shaw to reduce the student body from 600 to 400.

School board member Cal Newton says the transition between schools has often had a negative impact on students' academic success. He said that is especially true for elementary-aged children. The plan would move the 4th and 5th graders attending Shaw to the Wagram school. There are approximately 203 students at Shaw.

"We talked about the sixth-grade slump when they go to middle school," Newton said. "We always see a little bit of slump ... They level out by seventh grade, but you always see a little bit of a curve. Right now, we are seeing this in fourth."

The project is expected to save over $300,000 in annual costs, according to Roger Ammonds, director of plant operations and maintenance for the school system.

Closing the East Laurinburg campus would save $100,000 a year in energy and maintenance costs, while removing four mobile classrooms will save an estimated $8,000.

Consolidating the two schools will also eliminate six positions – principal, secretary, N.C. Wise data manager, school nurse, social worker and school counselor – with an estimated savings of $220,000.

The salaries are provided by the state for having the additional school and would have little savings on the local budget.

The estimated savings does not include savings from the elimination of five bus routes and does not factor in the maintenance and energy costs for the addition, which is estimated at $60,000.