The Lawrence school board on Monday will consider approving the sale of the district’s former East Heights Elementary School property to develop affordable single-family homes.
Board members will hear a report and then take a vote to sell the building at 1430 Haskell Ave. to the Flint Hills Holding Group, LLC., according to the meeting agenda item.
The amount for the sale, negotiated with Flint Hills, is $875,000 and would be added to the district’s capital outlay fund.
“This transaction is contingent upon the receipt of Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) award and the tax credit partnership, with an anticipated closing date no later than March 31, 2027,” according to the agenda. “In the event that Flint Hills Holding Group, LLC does not secure the LIHTC, the district will receive $100,000 to cover the carrying costs associated with the property during the waiting period.”
Flint Hills intends to apply for LIHTC to develop 40 to 55 single-family two- and three-bedroom homes as rental units. Plans include implementing an on-site day care center.
During a meeting in November, some Affordable Housing Advisory Board members said the project sounded great but that they had concerns that the developer had not yet acquired the land for it. Flint Hills and developer Tony Krsnich requested $1.2 million from the city’s affordable housing trust fund, but the board recommended the city not allocate any funds yet.
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In addition to the day care center, plans include offering health screenings, mental and behavioral health support for young children and providing a community space. The infrastructure would target multigenerational households and, to the extent allowed by fair housing laws, would aim to serve people of color and immigrant households.
The potential sale is on the board’s consent agenda — a list of items that are generally considered routine and are approved with one motion unless a board member or the superintendent asks to pull something for further discussion.
Almost one year ago, the board voted to approve a request for proposals, a document that authorizes a future sale and seeks buyers, to sell the East Heights building as surplus property. Flint Hills was the only proposal the district received, according to the agenda item.
The district’s Community Transition (C-Tran) programs were previously housed in the building but were moved to the former Pinckney Elementary School building this year after the board voted to close the elementary school.
In other business:
• Teacher survey results: Teachers in fall 2023 participated in a survey for the district to assess their alignment and engagement with their jobs. Results from the survey will be shared with the board Monday.
Overall, teachers responded they have a high satisfaction with relationships with their building colleagues; moderate satisfaction with their safety at school; and low satisfaction with the district’s attention to their emotional and mental health, vision and leadership of the school board and their salary, along with other responses.
No action is set to follow the report. View the full report attached to the meeting agenda on BoardDocs.
• Executive session: Monday’s meeting will conclude with a 30-minute executive session, or closed-door meeting, to discuss employee contract negotiations. The board, Superintendent Anthony Lewis, Cynde Frick, Cynthia Johnson, Kristen Ryan, Megan Epperson, Larry Englebrick and Kevin Harrell will be present. No action is set to follow.
The school board meeting is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. Monday, May 13 at district offices, 110 McDonald Drive.
Meetings are open to the public, livestreamed on the district’s YouTube channel, youtube.com/@USD497, and broadcast on Midco channel 26. Full meeting agendas are available on BoardDocs, via go.boarddocs.com.
To give public comment during the board meeting, sign up before the meeting starts either in person or by emailing PublicComment@usd497.org. Commenters may request to participate by Webex video/phone conferencing.
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Maya Hodison (she/her), equity reporter, can be reached at mhodison (at) lawrencekstimes (dot) com. Read more of her work for the Times here. Check out her staff bio here.
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