The Covington County Board of Education gave its nod of approval to hire an architect to develop plans for classroom additions at a local elementary school.

Superintendent Shannon Driver said the board OK’d McKee & Associates to formulate the plans to give additional space at Straughn Elementary School.

At last month’s meeting, Driver gave basic preliminary plans for a new building to board members.

Driver said then the building would be for pre-K and would house as many as eight classrooms on the back side of the elementary school near the current nurse’s station.

“I hope to have the plans by the next meeting,” Driver said.

Straughn Elementary School has seen growth in students.

For this school year the average daily membership was 538 students, for the previous years those numbers were 557 students.

Driver also expects a large kindergarten class for the next school year.