LUMBERTON — At least one school board member hopes that after tonight’s special meeting of the Public Schools of Robeson County Board of Education there will be a plan in place spelling out exactly what the district’s construction needs are and in what order these needs will be addressed.

“I feel that some concrete decisions will be made Tuesday (on construction needs) rather than us having to wait until our next regular meeting in September, ” said Mike Smith, chairman of the board’s Finance Committee. “We need to be prepared to discuss a plan of action so that everyone — county, state and federal officials — know what direction we want to go.”

The board is meeting at 6 p.m. today at the City Hall in Lumberton. City Hall is located at 500 N. Cedar St.

In addition to the discussion of construction and hurricane disaster recovery projects, the agenda for Tuesday’s meeting includes a discussion of personnel issues and student transfers.

Peggy Wilkins-Chavis, the board’s chairman, said that the board will open the meeting in public and then go into closed session to discuss school business.

“There’s some money that’s come in from the state and before we can get it we need to prioritize our needs,” Wilkins-Chavis said. “We need to come up with a list of what we can and can’t do financially. We need to get rolling on all of this and not wait any longer.”

Among the decisions the board must make is what to do about replacing the district office and the West Lumberton Elementary School, both devastated by the flooding that ravaged Robeson County in the wake of Hurricane Matthew. The hurricane swept through Robeson County last Oct. 8.

The board holds its regular monthly meetings on the second Tuesday of the month. The next regular meeting is scheduled for Sept. 12.

Peggy Wilkins-Chavis
https://www.robesonian.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/web1_Wilkins-Chavis_CMYK2017821164339372.jpgPeggy Wilkins-Chavis

Mike Smith
https://www.robesonian.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/web1_Smith_CMYK2017821165235569.jpgMike Smith

By Bob Shiles

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Bob Shiles can be reached at 910-416-5165.