By Rebecca Rider

rebecca.rider@salisburypost.com

The Rowan-Salisbury Board of Education will receive an update on a proposal to transform Knox Middle School into an E-STEAM magnet school at their Feb. 8 board meeting.

The board will meet at 1 p.m. in its Long Street Board Room in East Spencer.

Knox Co-Principals Dr. Latoya Dixon and Dr. Michael Waiksnis will give an update on their proposal to turn Knox into a year-round magnet school with a focus on environmental studies and the arts in addition to a STEAM program.

According to a proposal attached to the board’s online agenda, the principals will request making the program available to students across the county should extra seating be available. The proposal says that Knox Middle School has a capacity for 650 students, and only has 590 enrolled.

According the document, Knox has the staff available to launch the E-STEAM magnet school next year.

The board will also work on potential town meeting dates to discuss school consolidations. A draft of meeting dates lists one community discussion a month, starting in West Rowan in April and ending in September in East Rowan. A proposed timeline includes school and capacity assessments, with possible schools eligible for consolidation to be highlighted by January 2017, and final plans to be laid by December 2017.

Possible criteria used to determine which schools to consolidate include age and condition of the facility, safety and ADA requirements, enrollment numbers, operating and transportation costs and proximity to other district schools.

The board will also:

Discuss a property swap on Heilig road.

Look at the implementation of lap and shoulder belts on replacement school buses.

Discuss the construction of a discipline committee.