West Greene proposes to sell closed Graysville school
West Greene School Board asked Greene County Court to approve the proposed sale of the former Graysville Elementary School to a local drilling and excavating company.
In a petition filed Friday, the district asked the court to approve the sale of the building, vacant since the new elementary center opened two years ago, to Burns Drilling of Wind Ridge for $165,000.
The board earlier had considered a proposal to donate the building to a local anti-drug coalition that wanted to use it for an inpatient rehabilitation center operated by Teen Challenge, a Christian-based recovery organization.
However, at a meeting in July, the board voted down the proposal after hearing an outpouring of resistance from residents opposed to the idea of establishing a rehabilitation clinic in the community as well as at passing up the chance to sell the building and have it returned to the tax rolls.
Prior to voting down the coalition’s proposal, the board also rejected an offer for the building from GNAC LLC for $120,000. Some board members said then they believed the offer was too low while others said they first wanted to hear more about the coalition’s plan.
According to the court petition, the board approved a resolution at its Sept. 28 meeting to accept Burns’ offer contingent on court approval and following review of the agreement by the district solicitor.
The building had initially been listed for sale at $225,000. The petition states, however, the district believes Burns’ offer is “fair and reasonable in accordance with prevailing real estate market conditions.”
Greene County President Judge Farley Toothman has scheduled a hearing on the petition for 1 p.m. Nov. 20.