Court approves sale of Gresham Elementary, district to move forward with restructuring plan
One of the final major puzzle pieces in the effort to restructure the Vestavia Hills City Schools district has finally fallen into place.
On Tuesday, the Jefferson County Board of Education and Superintendent Todd Freeman announced in press releases that Federal Judge Madeline Haikala has approved the sale of Gresham Elementary School from the county to Vestavia.
The Vestavia Hills Board of Education voted on Aug. 23, 2017 to sign a letter of intent to purchase the school, and on Oct. 4 made an offer of $6.75 million for the property.
In November, the county board voted in favor of accepting the offer, pursuant to approval from the federal court system.
Vestavia won't have students in the school until the fall of 2019, and Jefferson County students will still attend the school through the 2018-2019 school year, though Vestavia will have the ability to make minor improvements in the meantime.
The addition of Gresham will provide three K-5 schools in the part of Vestavia that is west of U.S. 280, and is part of the greater restructuring plan that will go into effect in the fall of 2019.
"Given the growth in our community, it’s important that we establish elementary zones that ensure each school has the necessary facilities to deliver quality education and to accommodate projected growth," Freeman said in the press release.
Current Vestavia Hills Elementary Liberty Park School Principal Ty Arendall will be the principal at the school.
Freeman said in the release the district will be further engaging with Cooperative Strategies to determine the boundary lines for rezoning the elementary schools in a public process similar to what was done in the fall for the restructuring plan.
"Regardless of where boundary lines may ultimately be drawn, every elementary child in Vestavia Hills will be attending an outstanding school in terms of leadership, faculty, instructional resources, academic achievement and facilities," Freeman said.