By a vote of 4-1, members of  the Mitchell County School Board decided to proceed to a public hearing required before they could continue with plans to close either Tipton Hill, Buladean ,or both schools, located on the Northern end of the County. The Board is debating on how best to deal with the expected budget shortfalls from the State. Some in attendance at the meeting suggested that the board should take a sit back and wait approach and forget about closing schools in the county until the amount of the shortfalls becomes known. Board Chair Roger Burleson said that a notice will be published for seven days prior to the holding of that public hearing.