Navy supply corps school closer to relocating

The navy is apparently one step closer to relocating a supply corps school from Athens to Rhode Island.

It also comes closer to clearing the way for the Medical College of Georgia to possibly open a branch campus there.

The Athens Banner Herald is reporting that navy officials have signed a $24.5 million contract with a construction firm in Rhode Island. It includes plans to construct a new building and renovate an existing one in Newport.

The Athens school provides administrative, logistical and media training to sailors and Marines. Officials expect it to close it within three years.

Governor Sonny Perdue and officials in Athens want the property to be used as a branch campus of the Medical College of Georgia in Augusta.

The proposal is controversial, though. Some community leaders in Augusta want any expansion of the medical school to happen at the main campus there.