VALLEY GRANDE — Valley Grande may not be home to a separate school system, but that doesn’t mean Valley Grande city leaders don’t take ownership in the school’s they call their own.

During their regular council meeting, members of the Valley Grande City Council discussed an idea that would create a series of mini-grants for teachers at Martin Middle School, Valley Grande Elementary School and Dallas County High School.

With council member Libby Ezelle leading the meeting on July 16 in the absence of Mayor Tom Lee, the council heard a rough outline of the program.

“There are still a number of details we want to work through, but we wanted to make sure we started talking about this as we get closer to school starting,” Ezelle told fellow council members.

The initial idea has the city putting up a total of $1,500 annually for teachers at the three schools to compete for. The hope is to create three, $500 grants that can go to support a proposed project or program.

“The $1,500 amount was just a starting point,” Ezelle said. “As we discuss this further, we might find that more money would be better. This is just to get the idea rolling.”

Valley Grande’s next meeting is set for Aug. 6.