Making their move : Board members offer FHS campus to UA, open talks for property on Morningside
Posted on Friday, May 30, 2008
The Fayetteville Board of Education voted 6-1 Thursday to offer to sell the current high school campus to the University of Arkansas for $ 59 million.
The board set a July 1 deadline for university officials to respond. Superintendent Bobby New said the many details involved with such a real estate transaction could be worked out later in a final contract if the UA, located directly west of the campus, accepts the offer.
New recommended the $ 59 million price tag, an amount between the values listed in two separate appraisals. The move comes after nearly two years of debate over the future of the school and whether it should change locations.
“ It is now time to bring this information item to action, ” New said. “ In baseball terms, do we take the pitcher out or leave him in ? The ninth inning has arrived. ”
Selling the campus to build a new school has often been cited as a more cost-effective option by school staff to retrofit- ting the current site. This is based on the notion that the current campus, 40 acres in the 1000 block of West Stone Street, could be sold to subsidize new construction.
UA Vice Chancellor Don Pederson said he was not surprised by the school board’s decision but didn’t have any further comment on the matter.
The UA board of trustees is scheduled to meet June 6 at Petit Jean State Park.
School board member John Delap, who made the motion to offer the property, noted he originally wanted Fayetteville to convert to two high schools but he was outvoted and respects the democratic process. He agreed with New that the issue on whether to sell or stay needs some resolution.
“ We’ve been playing the if-this-happens-then-what game for the 18 months I’ve been on the board, ” he said.
Following the motion to sell and some other discussion, the board also authorized New to begin discussing the potential purchase of 73 acres along Morningside Drive in south Fayetteville as a potential new high school site.
An appointed committee recommended last month that the school be moved to that location.
James Rick Rose, a son of one of the property’s owners, told the board Thursday that he thought the location would be a good spot for the high school. He said although some of the terrain is classified as a flood plain, it didn’t flood during recent rains.
Board member Tim Kring suggested a good alternate location was still an important factor in making a decision. He said he probably would not support moving the school to 101 acres of district-owned land along Deane Solomon Road in northwest Fayetteville even with a $ 59 million sale.
Board member Becky Purcell cited price as the main reason for her lone dissenting vote. She said that based on replacement costs of the buildings, the asking price should be closer to $ 85 million because “ that’s what it’s worth to us. ”
Board President Steve Percival and other board members said they didn’t think such an asking price was realistic based on prior appraisals.
“ I get the impression that it’s artificially inflating the value to stifle the sale, ” Percival said.
“ Your efforts to arrive at some much larger number, way beyond what a real estate appraiser says this is worth, don’t move this forward for me, ” Hudson said.
While the facility has its shortcomings, Purcell said, it is adequately serving students based on their classroom achievements.
“ We, for one, need to recognize we are not in dire straits to sell this site, ” she said. “ We are not in a position where we need to sell. ”
Three people who attended the meeting spoke against offering the property for sale.
Bill Schreckhise, a representative of BuildSmart, which supports retaining the current location, said the district ought to offer to sell the property for at least $ 61 million, the amount of a district-commissioned appraisal.
He said board members also could ease the issue somewhat by excluding the Deane Solomon site as a potential new high school location.
New said if the UA accepts the offer, then the many details involved in terms of payment and when to move would be worked out in the final deal.
Board attorney Rudy Moore Jr. said no proposed contract to sell would be valid or finalized until both the school board and UA board of trustees sign it.
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