The Anderson school board has agreed to sell the former 29th Street Elementary School building to a local charter school. Aaron Piper photo
ANDERSON, Ind. — The school board agreed to sell the former 29th Street Elementary School building to a local charter school Tuesday.
Anderson Community Schools Superintendent Felix Chow said the Anderson Preparatory Academy offered $800,000 for the building.
Anderson Preparatory Academy already has two schools in Anderson, and offers a military-style learning environment that follows the guidelines of the Civil Air Patrol.
It is a public charter school, which means it receives state funding per student, as ACS does.
This caused concern for Anderson teacher Marisa Graham.
“I know we are very, very strapped for cash ... I think this would be a horrible mistake,” she told the board Tuesday.
Graham said selling the building to APA would allow the charter school to take another 300 students from ACS, costing the school state funding.
ACS receives approximately $6,000 per student from the state.
A loss of 300 students would result in a loss of approximately $1.8 million, she explained.
Since the building would only sell for $800,000, Graham said the sale was not beneficial to the school corporation.
“We would lose more in the first year than we would gain,” she said.
“They are our competition,” she added.
After a short discussion regarding the terms of the deal, board members voted unanimously to sell the building.
The 29th Street building currently houses the corporation’s administration center and previously served as Twenty-ninth Street Elementary School and South Side Middle School.
Board member Irma Hampton Stewart said she understood Graham’s position, but doesn’t believe that selling the building to APA means giving up on Anderson Community School Corp.
“We intend to really compete hard against them,” she said.
Board member Ben Gale agreed, stating that “buildings are not what makes a school corporation.”
Board President Scott Green said the sale of the building is in line with the district’s five-year plan to be fiscally responsible and successful. “Our plan is to be the school system of choice.”
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