The White County School System has a new transportation facility. School officials and the community gathered Thursday afternoon for a ribbon cutting ceremony for the spacious modern facility, commonly referred to as the ‘bus barn.’
The bus barn is located next to Tesnatee Gap Elementary School north of Cleveland.
During a tour of the facility, White County Schools Transportation Director Sharon Hipps touted the facility’s many upgraded features, including an expanded paved parking lot.
White County Superintendent of Schools Dr. Laurie Burkett talked about all the great people who had a part in making the facility a reality. She included local citizens and visitors to the area who pay that one cent special purpose local option sales tax that paid for it.
“Everyone who comes through our county, we’re able to collect that one penny on all the dollars they spend and we’re able to have a building like this which you know would not be possible without that, so pretty amazing,” she said.
Director Hipps noted it’s more than a new building.
“Just to be in a bigger place to have the room to maneuver the busses, to have the meeting room, the privacy and, of course, professionalism that it brings for the corps and morale,” she said.
The new facility replaces an old outdated and outgrown building that was built 51 years ago.
