Cater County BOE votes again to close Little Milligan

Thursday, the Carter County Board of Education reconsidered their initial vote to close Little Milligan Elementary, but ultimately decided to still close the school due to budget reasons. Director of Schools, Dr. Brandon Carpenter said because of the community’s concern, the board wanted to have the full picture before making a final decision. Supporters of the school were at the meeting to voice their opinions, but, the board discussed the budget shortfalls of keeping Little Milligan open and made their decision. Carpenter said the school was by far the most expensive per-student school to operate and was operating at nearly three times the cost of the most cost efficient school in the system. Officials estimated it would cost $716,000 to keep Little Milligan open for one more year.