Historic Gainesville house slated to move to 'Oaks'

GAINESVILLE - An historic house in Gainesville would be the next addition to the Lanier Career Academy in a plan presented to Hall County School Board members Monday.

Pat Ellis with the Career Academy said once the Apperson Moon House behind the Quinlan Arts Center is moved, hopefully by Christmas, a half million dollar grant would help renovate it into a working bed and breakfast inn run by students. Ellis said this would be the first house ever moved out of the Gainesville Historic District.

"It will be part of the 'Oaks', Ellis said. "It will be 'Tumbling Creek Bed and Breakfast at the Oaks'; we will be teaching hospitality and hotel management."

Hall County government would apply for the grant for the school system; the bed and breakfast inn would locate along a walking trail planned by Hall County that would connect the Career Academy with Lanier Technical College.

NEEDING SOME HELP

The Hall County School System needs help managing its federal funding and school board members heard a proposal to hire federal programs support according to Superintendent Will Schofield.

"We're going to use a little bit of that federal money to hire some folks that understand federal programs and stay within the guidelines," Schofield said.

Schofield said federal program workers would also work with teachers; he said staff would be working on creating job descriptions for board review.

DELL VIDEO CONFERENCE FROM TEXAS

Board members brainstormed about bringing the classroom of the future to Hall County schools with a video conference from Dell Computer in Texas. Hall County school officials in Texas with Dell education computer experts talked with board members and staff in Gainesville about modernizing education. Superintendent Schofield said he hopes in five years elementary students could be free of 45-pound book bags.

"They could have a single electronic device with up to the minute, up to date curriculum resources that they could use 24/7 all year long," Schofield said.

Schofield said video conference and computer technology would be available in all 33 of Hall County's schools by next month.