DOBSON — Ensuring the safety of the county’s young people during the school day highlights the agenda when the Surry County Board of Commissioners meets for its regular meeting Monday night.

The meeting will get under way at 6 p.m. in the Commissioner’s Meeting Room of the Surry County Government Center in Dobson.

During the meeting, representatives from the Mount Airy City Schools, Surry County Schools, Surry Community College and Elkin City Schools are scheduled to address the board.

County Manager Chris Knopf said Thursday that in the wake of school shootings across the country, area school officials have been looking into their campus security plans.

“They’re expected to address the board on proposals to heighten security in the schools,” Knopf said.

Board Chairman Eddie Harris said that in the wake of school tragedies of late, it’s an appropriate time to talk school safety.

“This has been a topic of great discussion throughout the country recently, and as a result the schools have been addressing and evaluating their security and safety procedures,” he said, “since the safety and welfare of our children in Surry County is our number one priority.”

Harris said the discussion is at the request of the county board.

“The board of commissioners invited the school systems to this meeting in order to give the public a background on what’s been taking place during the evaluation of safety procedures and see whether there is anything the board might be able to do to help them,” he said. “This is just a discussion as to where we stand as a county on school safety.”

In other business, county Planning Director Kim Bates will address the board prior to a public hearing on a proposed rezoning on Rockford Road/Stony Knoll Road.

The rezoning proposal, filed by Dominic A. Payson, is to reverse a zoning change made in November 2005, when the property was rezoned from residential to business in order to open a bakery.

“The owners of the bakery have closed the business, and they now propose to use the structure for a residential purpose,” Bates said.

Following the meeting, the board is expected to recess until Feb. 22 for its annual retreat.

Reach Keith Strange at kstrange@civitasmedia.com or 719-1929.