The Boys & Girls Club being formed in Henry County now has at least one home -- the empty Henry County Middle School.
The south metro Atlanta county’s board of education on Monday agreed to lease a portion of the building -- which closed at the end of the 2018-2019 school year -- to the nascent boys and girls program for $1 annually for five years.
The lease begins in January and the school board can renew it for another five years at the end of the five-year term. Henry County Middle was replaced by McDonough Middle School, which welcomed students for the first time in August.
"It's been a long time coming," school board member Pam Nutt said of the formation of the Henry Boys & Girls Club. "I've very happy they'll be at Henry County Middle School. We're very excited for the children of Henry County."
School board member Sophe Pope agreed.
Monday’s action was a “testament to how much our community cares about our children,” she said. “It takes a village and more to raise them.”
Henry leaders earlier this year announced that the county had formed a partnership with the Boys & Girls Club of Central Georgia to operate a program in the community. The county and the city of McDonough have committed as much as $300,000 to get the program off the ground.
As envisioned, the program will be divided into two sites in McDonough to reach as many young people as possible, said Henry County Commissioner Dee Clemmons, who has been a leader in the drive to create a club. The second location has not yet been identified.
“I want to thank you for your support, for your hard work, for the due diligence you did to make this happen,” Clemmons told school board members after the unanimous vote in favor of leasing the property. “This was a big step for our boards to come together.”
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