By Ben Kleppinger

Lincoln County school officials held an open discussion for the first time Thursday night about possibilities for a permanent solution following an Aug. 6 fire that destroyed the board of education annex building on Danville Avenue.

The highlight of the discussion was Head Start coordinator Christine Killen’s idea that the school district should purchase the old Food Lion building on the north side of Stanford and renovate it, turning it into the new central office for the district.

The district is currently leasing the building to provide storage and setup space as it creates temporary solutions for the problems caused by the fire.

The fire destroyed eight preschool classrooms, the district technology hub, a cafeteria and more that was housed in the annex building.

Killen told school board members she believes the Food Lion building could be turned into an excellent space for the district’s central office, a new technology hub and training space for teachers and staff.

Four of the lost classrooms were actually preschool classrooms for Stanford Elementary students, and Stanford Principal Brandi Hon would love to have those classrooms built on to Stanford’s school instead of remaining away from the rest of the school, Killen said.

As for the other four classrooms — Early Head Start classrooms for infants and toddlers — they could operate out of the building next-door to the annex, which was used as the district’s central office before the fire, Killen said.

The old central-office building could also house Head Start administrative offices and a cafeteria and kitchen, which could be built as an addition, she said.

District Technology Coordinator Darren Yaden said the Food Lion building is an attractive option for the central office and technology hub for a number of reasons. The building is located in the right place to be near AT&T’s fiber-optic lines, which is essential for the technology hub to operate properly, he said.

The building has lots of space inside and the loading docks on the back are very useful, Yaden said.

As for the current appearance of the building, Yaden said there’s no reason it would have to continue looking like a grocery store on the outside.

“An architect could have a good time with that,” he said.

Eric Loy, a representative for the district’s architecture consulting company Sherman Carter Barnhart, said he could have drawings made quickly before the next school board meeting of how the look of the building could be changed.

Killen noted that windows would need to be added, because the only windows are currently at the front entrance of the building.

Board members did not take any action on the discussion, but board Chairman Jim Kelley said board members would be thinking seriously about the possibility in anticipation of discussing it further.