MONTGOMERY, Ala. – Alabama Senate President Pro Tem Garlan Gudger, R-Cullman, on Wednesday presented a check for $1 million in additional State funds to Cullman County Schools Superintendent Dr. Shane Barnette and members of the Cullman County Board of Education.
“The first day of school is always special across Cullman County, and it is made even more special this year with an additional $1 million in education funding that we brought home from Montgomery,” Gudger said. “Our goal is to make Cullman County schools among the very best you will find anywhere in Alabama and to provide our children with a learning environment that allows them to excel and reach their fullest potential.”
He noted that the additional $1 million will be used for capital projects that include school and facility improvements. He said he anticipates announcing more positive news in the near future for Cullman City Schools, Cullman County Schools, Marion County Schools, Winston County Schools and Haleyville Schools.
“I am working every day to maximize the public education dollars and other resources that we can bring to schools, teachers and students throughout Senate District 4,” Gudger said. “In order to guarantee bright futures for our children and prosperity for our area, we must prepare students for the long-lasting, high-paying, 21st century jobs of tomorrow.”
In addition to providing the $1 million in new funding, Gudger recently joined Barnette and school board members in cutting the ribbon on remodeled classrooms at Hanceville Elementary School and breaking ground on construction of the new Good Hope Elementary School.
Sparked by an increasing student population, construction of the new Good Hope Elementary is estimated to cost around $9 million, and officials announced in March that the old facility will be converted into a “ninth grade academy” that will ease crowding at the high school.
Remodeling classrooms and renovating the existing Hanceville Elementary building, which has been vacant, will allow it to reopen and also alleviate stresses from the fast-growing area’s high student enrollment. It will also allow Hanceville to offer Alabama’s award-winning “First Class” Pre-K program, which has long been a model that other states have sought to emulate.
