The Union County School District Board of Trustees voted unanimously Monday to draw up a contract to transfer the ownership of the former Jonesville High School building to the town of Jonesville.
The Union County School District Board of Trustees voted unanimously Monday to authorize the district administration to draw up a contract transferring the building to the town. The contract will include a requirement that Jonesville use the building for the purposes laid out by Mayor Ernest Moore when he requested the transfer in September.
Moore asked that the district donate the school to the town for a variety of governmental and community uses. Board Chairman Wanda All told Moore the district was still in the process of moving items out the building and that the board would get back to him.
Superintendent Dr. David Eubanks said if the town were to put the building to the uses outlined by Moore it would benefit Jonesville while relieving the district of a financial burden
“They have indicated they want to use the property for a number of reasons,” Eubanks said. “They have talked about using it as a senior adults center, a municipal building for the town government and law enforcement and recreation. Those uses will be outlined as stipulations of the contract.”
“For the district, since the building is unoccupied it is a liability, we have to pay insurance on it, perform at least some maintenance on it, all the while getting no use out of it,” he continued. “If we transfer it to the town and they use it for the purposes they’ve stated it will become an asset to them.”
Jonesville High School closed in 2007 when it and Lockhart High School were consolidated with Union High School to form Union County High School. Until 2009 it served as Jonesville Middle School before being closed along with Jonesville Elementary School at the end of the school year. Elementary and middle school students in the Jonesville area now attend Jonesville Elementary/Middle K-8 School which opened this year.
Jonesville Elementary School is now being leased by the district to Carolina Community Action
Eubanks said he hopes the administration will have the contract ready for the board’s review and final approval by January.
Post a Comment
