From the CBS 8 South Alabama Newsroom -- Thursday night's school board meeting brought about big changes for the Butler County Magnet School, which is only in its first year.
Board members say it's a tough decision that had to be made. The school's magnet program will be eliminated come August. They say with proration and major financial burdens, the $450,000 that was provided in federal funding for the program will run out. They say they can't afford to keep it going.
Georgiana Mayor, Mike Middleton, says losing the program is unfortunate.
"I wish we still has the magnet program but when you are talking a half a million dollars that we don't have because we're in proration now and we're going to be even more the next year it's you know. I think we're still going to have the quality of education that we need," says Middleton.
Along with the program cut, came a name change. In August, the facility will be named Georgiana School. Several residents say it's the name they wanted all along.
"I worked hard for that name because of the heritage. I graduated from Georgiana High School. My kids graduated from there. It was a good school. It represents our city. It represents our alumni and our heritage," says Jerry Hartin.
Board members say it will cost thousands of dollars to change the school's name. They say, though, cutting the magnet program will save much more in the long run.
Board members say it is a possibility that several teachers will be lost with the program.
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