The Richmond County Board of Education is expected to discuss the realignment of teachers and staff from Cordova Elementary and Rohanen Primary at a special called meeting next week.

The meeting is scheduled for noon on June 22 at the Richmond County Schools Central Office in Hamlet.

RCS Public Information Officer Ashley Simmons said the agenda for the meeting hasn’t yet been finalized, but school administrators are working to get a handle on who will go where when East Rockingham Elementary School opens next school year.

“We are in the process of evaluating the staffing needs for the new school and all of our schools,” RCS Superintendent Dr. George Norris said in a Wednesday e-mail. “We want each of our schools to be staffed equitably and for that reason, moving teachers or other staff may be unavoidable in some cases.”

Norris said that, as of right now, no positions have been eliminated from either of the schools which were closed as K-5 facilities at the board’s regular June meeting.

“Ultimately, it is our purpose to provide each of our schools with strong leadership and a strong staff that will establish and maintain an active and engaging learning community for our students,” Norris said.

Keith McKenzie, who has been the principal of Fairview Heights Elementary for the past several years, has already been named the principal of East Rockingham Elementary when it opens in August.

The fates of the principals, assistant principals and other administrators, as well as teachers and staff, from Cordova and Rohanen haven’t yet been announced.

Codova’s enrollment was about 200 pre-K through fifth grade students last year, according to the school’s Web site, while Rohanen’s Web site reports enrollment of 321 for 2009-10.

Rohanen Primary taught pre-K through third grades.

Last year, Cordova had 52 staff members, and Rohanen had 59 staff members.

RCS has yet to announce how many faculty, staff and administrators will be employed at East Rockingham Elementary.

Staff Writer Philip D. Brown can be reached at (910) 997-3111 ext. 32, or by e-mail at pbrown@yourdailyjournal.com.