GEORGETOWN, Ind. (WDRB) -- A 53-acre tract of land acquired by New Albany Floyd County Schools last week could prove useful as the county continues to grow, officials say.
The district’s board voted 6-1 on April 12 to buy the property on Oakes Road in Georgetown for nearly $1.2 million.
Steve Griffin, assistant superintendent of middle school education, said the district wanted to purchase the land because Floyd County’s population continues to grow, particularly in Georgetown. He noted that recent infrastructure improvements have drawn more interest in that area of Floyd County and that schools there, like Highland Hills Middle School, have rapidly grown.
“We’re a growing district and Floyd County’s physically a pretty small county, so any time you can get 50 acres, you need to take advantage of that for the future,” Griffin said. “We have no immediate plans for utilizing the property, but we knew that it would be an opportunity that we shouldn't pass up when it became available.
“We know or anticipate that our enrollment’s going to be spiking, and we want to be prepared for that."
The acreage gives New Albany Floyd County flexibility for future use. Griffin said the district could build another elementary or middle school there, though he reiterated that no plans had been made.
Whatever the district decides to do with the land will come after public input, he said. In fact, he said a future school board may ultimately decide to sell the property if such a move is in the district’s best interest.
“Who knows at what point anything may be done on that or in five or 10 years if the next superintendent or the next school board wishes to go ahead and resell that for whatever reason, they could do that without really a loss,” Griffin said. “We couldn't imagine that there'd be a loss there.”
Superintendent Brad Snyder told the school board last week that the district had been negotiating with two property owners, one motivated to sell and another unmotivated. The district bought the land from the family that owns Loftus Farms in Georgetown, Griffin said.
“There’s nothing suggesting that you would have to have this property tomorrow, but I do think a board will want it someday,” Snyder said.
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