The SoBoCo School Board, by a 6-1 vote, began the transition to make the Learning Garden an official part of the local school district’s curriculum.

The board gave Superintendent Chris Felmlee the go-ahead to post a full-time position opening for a Learning Garden teacher.

The Learning Garden has been the recipient of a grant which has been utilized to pay some administrative costs, office expenses and salaries of AmeriCorps educators, however, that grant will soon expire.

The school board and Learning Garden board members met last summer during the board retreat to discuss the school district taking on the expense of the “backyard, hands-on” learning center behind the Primary School, as well as the gardens near the Pre-Kindergarten classroom. Felmlee expressed confidence in making that move on Monday.

“I am hoping this teacher would work closely with Ms. Hammett (the high school ag teacher) and would report to the Primary and Elementary principals,” Felmlee said. “We would love to see the Learning Garden program continue to grow and utilize high school ag program kids to help facilitate this as well.”

~ Find out more in today’s Journal ~

By Bruce Wallace