The Henry County Board of Education voted at its February 8 regular meeting to approve a statement of support for the Panola Mountain Greenway Trail’s eventual connection to Austin Road Middle School.

Initial access for the trail was approved in the fall of 2017, and this most recent action provides support for the final trail route as well as the use of the north parking lot at the school for trail enthusiasts. Officials noted that school security will not be threatened by this access, as all county middle schools now have resource officers provided by the Sheriff’s Office and plans are in the works for keycard-only access control at all schools. Additional security cameras will be put in place when the trail is completed.

In other business, a $155,365 contract was approved by the board for video, lighting, live-streaming and staging services for the district’s various high school graduations scheduled for this spring. All of the events will take place at Atlanta Motor Speedway, the same location as last year’s delayed graduation ceremonies after the COVID-19 shutdown.

Southeast Staging Inc. submitted the approved bid, and officials stated that it is the same company which provided the services for last year’s graduation. Seniors are scheduled to receive their diplomas from the district’s 10 high schools in separate ceremonies between May 19 and 28 at the speedway, which is roomy enough to allow sufficient social distancing while permitting all interested family and friends to attend.