School board authorizes purchase of Kines property to expand Shiver campus

The campus of Shiver Elementary School will be expanded by 7.5 acres following action by the Grady County Board of Education Tuesday night.
Following a brief closed door session, the board voted unanimously to purchase the property located at 1889 GA Hwy. 93 N, adjacent to the Shiver campus, from June Kines at a cost of $140,000.
On the tract is a house, four-bay shelter with roll up doors and an outbuilding. For the time being the structures will be used for storage and the house could be used for other school activities such as meeting space for vocational agriculture students, according to Grady County School Superintendent Dr. Kermit Gilliard.
The superintendent said he intends for the additional property to be utilized by both the middle school and high school vocational agriculture programs.
In addition to area to cultivate crops or vegetables, Gilliard said the possibility of pens for livestock could be erected.
“Many children who might be interested in participating in local livestock shows don’t have a place to raise a cow or hog. I could see this property possibly being used to grow the livestock program for our youth,” Dr. Gilliard said.
The land purchase will be paid for from the school system’s cash reserves, according to school officials.