The Cherokee County School Board turned down a request Monday evening to renovate a new school building for a proposed Head Start program expansion.

School trustees voted 8-1 to reject a $1 million grant proposal from Head Start so the federal pre-school program could serve 52 infants and toddlers in Cherokee County. The grant would have required the district to renovate a classroom wing in the new Cherokee County Learning Center.

The district designed the $7 million community learning center specifically to house the adult education, high school alternative program and a Parents of Preschoolers Program. The school was completed last year as part of a $35 million school building program.

Head Start was waiting on a decision from Cherokee County on the grant so it could move forward with its plans.

Superintendent Dr. Bill James said Head Start has served special education children locally for the past 25 years and was interested in serving additional preschool children in highpoverty areas in Cherokee County.

School trustees had considerable reservations about remodeling the new Cherokee Community Learning Center. It mattered little that Head Start was willing to pay for the renovation work and construction of three new playgrounds on the school property.

Board members expressed concern about how the Head Start program could impact the district’s future ability to expand adult education and alternative program services. The proposed renovations would have relocated adult education classrooms from the front to the back of the school building.

School board member Amanda Knowles was uncomfortable with the idea of displacing adult education to make room for Head Start.

“There was a great deal of planning which went into designing the building,” Knowles said. “After looking at the renovation plans, I feel this would be a detriment to the programs we already have in place there.”