During Tuesday’s work session, the Selma City School Board again discussed the possibility of housing nearly 70 children in one of its schools through the Selma-Dallas County Head Start program.

But before board members can make a final decision, they will need a few more documents from Head Start program director Michael McGrady to prove the organization, along with the Central Alabama Child Development and Community Development Cooperative is legit and will not cause harm to the Selma City School system.

The center’s former entity Selma-Dallas Community Action & CDC, closed its doors in May, and the current agency is looking to change its name officially by this week.

“We’re looking to become incorporated as the Central Alabama Child Development & CDC,” McGrady said. “We’re in the final phases of the paperwork that is needed to complete that information.”

Board members are concerned about such issues as liability insurance and the housing of students if something goes wrong with the CDC organization.

“What scares me there is ‘looking to become’,” school board member Holland Powell said. “You really don’t exist quite yet, but you still have the Head Start contract … can you understand my caution in doing business with a bankrupt, defunct cooperation that was … poorly managed?”

McGrady said the insurance coverage is under the organization’s former name. The organization has $35,000 of its own funds in the bank and the state awarded the organization $4.4 million grant — about $7,000 a child— to fund the Head Start program in the area. McGrady also said the program plans to have a site manager on hand.

“We have a fairly large board and they have a meeting scheduled for this Thursday,” McGrady said. “Hopefully I can’t guarantee anything, by tomorrow (Wednesday), I should be able to go to the Probate Judge’s office and file the final paperwork for the name change.”

School board member Frank Chestnut, whose board committee reviewed the Head Start program and proposal, read his report on the program. The committee favored the partnership and believes Byrd Elementary would be an ideal place to house children because of the available space.

“It would help our children become better prepared as they enter the public school system,” Chestnut read. “It will also ultimately lead to our students obtaining a better education as they transition into our society.”

The Head Start program is currently housed in four locations including GWC Homes, J.L. Chestnut Boulevard, Dallas Avenue and the St. Elizabeth’s School.

Representatives from performance contractors Schneider Electric and Honeywell and Aflac supplemental insurance, also gave presentations to the board, in hopes to help save the school system money in energy bills.