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Opposition is growing against a proposal to open a liquor store next to a Greensboro high school, with two more groups joining the Guilford County Board of Education in objecting to it.

The Greensboro ABC board has said it wants to build a new liquor store on Pisgah Church Road next to the SCALE Academy. The academy is one of the county's alternative high schools.

School board members reported Tuesday night that the Greensboro Health Council and the Guilford County Substance Abuse Coalition are writing letters to the state ABC board to join the school board's opposition to the store.

State approval of the new ABC store has been put on hold for several months as the local boards attempt to hash out their differences.

After attending a meeting with local ABC board officials Tuesday, school board attorney Jill Wilson told the school board that ABC officials are proposing putting the ABC storefront on the north side of the property. The SCALE Academy's main entry faces the south side.

The ABC board also offered to provide the school system with a video camera to help with surveillance, and to provide the school with alcohol awareness programs, Wilson said. If the Greensboro ABC board moves forward with its plan, the state ABC board will vote on the proposal next month.

Agreements between local colleges and the school system were also discussed at the meeting. Several school board members expressed concern about the district paying for mobile units at Guilford College.

The units are used by the Early College at Guilford, an alternative high school program. The system installed a "quad" mobile unit on the campus years ago, when the program began, and will spend another $351,600 this year to install another.

Quad mobile units are about equal in square footage to four mobile units and can be divided into separate rooms.

Board member Darlene Garrett brought the issue up during the discussion of general school spending, which includes repairs, new buses and band uniforms and equipment.

Garrett said she thought the tuition paid by the county would cover costs such as space at the college.

"I'm not knocking it at all. It's a great school, but their enrollment is not growing," Garrett said.

Wilson pointed out that the school system, by contract, may be required to bear the cost of mobile units at the early college programs if they are needed.

"So I guess when it says 'we may,' it means we will," Garrett said.

Board member Nancy Routh echoed those concerns. She said that if it came a point of needing mobile units, the issue would be brought before the school board for approval first.

Routh said she thinks the Early College at Guilford program is good one, noting it was one of three Guilford County high schools to have a 100 percent graduation rate.

Only five other schools statewide had the same graduation rate.

Routh said the school board may need to review all of its early college contracts.

Leaky roofs also were a hot topic. More than a dozen schools were mentioned as having leak issues by staff and board members.

Maintenance staffers told the school board they have hired a consultant to develop a roofing priority plan to address the issues.

That report should be complete within the next couple of months.

Contact J. Brian Ewing at 373-7351 or brian.ewing@news-record.com