The Newton County Board of Education has agreed to sell a portion of land to the Georgia Department of Transportation to allow for the widening of a small portion of Ga. Highway 81.

In the resolution signed by board members at their work session Tuesday, the board agreed that “in order to maintain the operations of the Newton County School District, the Newton County Board of Education previously declared it was necessary to upgrade and remodel Livingston Elementary School in the western part of the county.”

In order to provide the access lanes for the school, the Georgia Department of Transportation determined that there must be widening, which requires the BOE to sell a strip of land consisting of .601 acres to the state for $11,600.

The selling of the land will in no way hinder the operations of Livingston, school officials said.