The Wise County Board of Supervisors will soon decide whether to support the school district's consolidation plan by providing funds to build three new schools. If the new buildings are not funded, School Superintendent Jeff Perry has indicated that the district move ahead with a backup plan. The backup plan calls for closing three small schools and making improvements to existing larger schools to accommodate students -- at a cost of $2 million.

The discussion has grown heated, with Board of Supervisors Chairman J.H. Rivers suggesting that $2 million could be cut from the school budget as a means of preventing consolidation. Rivers has said he has abandoned the idea.

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