County supervisors were once again approached by another community group looking to use abandoned school space last week, marking the second time in the last month and a half a group contacted the board for possibly transforming vacant space into future county resources.
The old Moor High School could turn into a museum for public education efforts, and a home for school support services if a lease or sale agreement can be reached between supervisors and the Starkville-Oktibbeha school board.
The possible partnership would bring Education Association of East Oktibbeha County Schools closer to getting space in the old high school. The group hopes to save the school, and utilize the space once again.
"We have the resources," said Education Association representative Jacqueline Ellis last week. "We have the tools to create a lasting institution."
The school has been in the community for over 50 years, she added. The abandoned building is now considered an eyesore, Ellis told supervisors.
The nonprofit could add a teacher support team, health services and various classes on extracurricular activities in the building. The group could use the space for early childhood education classes with government funding, Ellis noted.
EAEOCS could share the space by creating a multipurpose complex to boost the lives of students in the area, she added.
Community Counseling
In October, the board was approached by Community Counseling Services for using space at the former East and West Oktibbeha high schools.
"We had looked at as possibly using it as a crisis stabilization unit, where we could maybe take some of these individuals that are coming through the courts and prevent civil commitment to them to state hospitals," CCS Director Lori Latham said in October. "We want to get them to a point where they're able to be treated within their community."
"We should look into the counties that are around us to take this and use it," Latham added.
In 2016, CCS committed 39 individuals into the state's mental health care system.
For more, see the Nov. 14 edition.