BOE signs letter of intent to purchase Gresham Elementary

The Vestavia Hills Board of Education has indicated its intent to again add to its list of properties, with a move to purchase Gresham Elementary School.

Gresham, located off Dolly Ridge Road on the opposite side of U.S. 280 from Cahaba Heights, is a Jefferson County K-5 elementary school with about 420 students and 50 teachers, according to its website. The school feeds into Irondale Middle School and Shades Valley High School.

The school transitioned from being a middle school to an elementary school in 2007 and serves the residents in the pockets of unincorporated county in the area.

The BOE signed a non-binding letter of intent to purchase the property at the end of its regularly scheduled meeting, after going into executive session. The item of business was not on the published agenda.

When the meeting reconvened, Phillips said Jefferson County Superintendent Craig Pouncey invited her for a meeting on Aug. 3 to discuss the purchase of the school, along with BOE Attorney Pat Boone, HPM's Greg Ellis and BOE financial advisor Greg Maner.

Phillips said at the meeting that Pouncey said the county has been looking at selling the school and its 27 acres of property, and a recent appraisal valued the property at $6.75 million.

Phillips explained that the process would be similar to the one undergone when the BOE purchased the Berry campus.

"My opinion is I feel it would be an advantage to the Vestavia Hills school system to own and operate Gresham school," Phillips said.

Her recommendation made way for Boone to draft and execute the non-binding letter of intent.

The next steps would include a purchase agreement, annexation, federal court approval and eventually the closing of the transaction, should it progress that far.

In her recommendation, Phillips included the stipulation to use commercially appropriate means to come to the purchase agreement within 30 days following the execution of the letter of intent.

Board member David Powell asked why, during a time of superintendent transition, would the board engage in such negotiations.

Phillips said that the issue just came up, and there is both a timeline that Jefferson County is committed to and a timeline for the Vestavia Hills schools facilities decisions. She said the board and district staff needs time to give due diligence to the process, and it needs to happen no matter who is in the superintendent's role.

She said this would also impact the boundary study Cooperative Strategies is about to undertake.

"So the main thing is the time frame here," Phillips said.

Boone said he would be getting the letter to the superintendent's office as soon as Thursday.

A video of the two-hour meeting, with the vote taking place at the end, can be found at vestavia.k12.al.us/Page/690.