Jefferson County approves entering into sale agreement for Gresham Elementary

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The Jefferson County Board of Education met Thursday for its regular November meeting and took the next step in handing over Gresham Elementary School to Vestavia Hills City Schools.

The board unanimously approved a recommendation from Superintendent Craig Pouncey to execute an agreement for sale of the property, contingent on approval from a federal judge.

There was no discussion on the action, but in his recommendation Pouncey said he would be working with the county board's attorney to finalize the agreement in the coming days and weeks.

In a statement Thursday afternoon, Interim Superintendent Charles mason said:

"I want to extend thanks to our Board of Education as well as the Jefferson County Board of Education and Superintendent Craig Pouncey for the opportunity to work together for the good of both school systems. The sale of Gresham will provide both of our districts with new options for school structuring to ensure that we continue to meet the needs of students for years to come. We look forward to continuing the dialogue with our community in the weeks ahead as we plan for the future of Vestavia Hills City Schools.”

Gresham, located off U.S. 280, sits in the heart of Vestavia, with most of the surrounding properties annexed into the city over the last several years.

The school, which currently has between 400 and 500 students, has made way for the Vestavia BOE to reconsider its restructuring plan. Over the last week Interim Superintendent Charles Mason has been gathering feedback from school faculty and staff, parents and the rest of the community about the options Gresham makes possible.

The agreement approved by the county will need to be formally accepted by Vestavia as well, and then will move to get approval by a federal judge due to county desegregation laws, in much the same way the Berry campus did in 2016. The Berry process took about five months from when Vestavia made Hoover an offer to when U.S. District Judge Madeline Haikala signed off on the sale.