"Jefferson High School only has three classrooms available for future growth," said John Jackson, school system superintendent. "There is also a kitchen problem (at the high school). It’s the smallest one in the entire school system."

The building to be removed was previously the middle school. By removing the building and making a few other alterations, the high school will gain 18 new classrooms and a larger cafeteria.

"There is no timeline on the phaseout of the annex building," Jackson said. "The vote just goes on record that the school board wants to move in that direction. When the board is ready, we can take the building out."

The school board also approved modifying Jefferson Elementary School to add classroom space and a larger cafeteria there as well. The meeting was held in the board room at Jefferson High School at 575 Washington St. During the meeting, the school board also received a report on the system’s finances.

After adjusting spending habits to accommodate budget cuts, system officials say that so far there aren’t any financial issues.

"When we saw what was happening, we focused on everything that was necessary to support Georgia performance standards and special education, and we made sure we had those areas covered," said Sherrie Gibney-Sherman, school system associate superintendent. "We then did things like cutting back on things like travel outside of the school district."

Since the school system earns revenue from the collection of Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax, school officials are encouraging Jackson County residents to spend locally.

"We need to keep promoting shopping locally," said Kim Navas, the school system’s financial officer. "It’s a win-win because it’s good for our local businesses, and it is good for us because we get a portion of the sales tax."