The Starkville School District is exploring a deal with East Mississippi Community College that would allow the junior college to offer general education testing and college-level classes at West Oktibbeha County High School, a Maben campus that will close after July 1’s state-mandated consolidation.
The Starkville School District Board of Trustees took no formal action on the matter Tuesday but directed Superintendent Lewis Holloway to continue discussions that stemmed from a previous meeting with EMCC officials and Maben aldermen.
Although a formal deal is not set, a lease could allow the upcoming Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated School District to pass off maintenance and upkeep responsibilities of the facility to EMCC in turn for physical presence in the western portion of the county.
Holloway said the asking price could be as low as $1 since the land itself is not classified as 16th section school land.
“EMCC has a great desire to lease this building. They see it as a win-win for them. They get a building for almost nothing, and we get the protection of having somebody in the building and maintaining … the security and utilities of the building,” he said.
Negotiations between the two entities are expected to continue, and Holloway will bring back a contract for board approval if an agreement is reached.
Under the current consolidation plan, Oktibbeha County School District’s two elementary schools will remain open after the merger with SSD and service young students who reside in the outlying county area. The two county high schools will close, and those students will attend Starkville High School.
The fate of the two county high school campuses remains a question mark for school officials even after working through consolidation’s logistics.
Jettisoning control of WOCHS and its associated upkeep would shed costly upkeep requirements for an unused building and could be an easier option for officials since East Oktibbeha County High School sits on 15th section land, which brings about similar state requirements for leasing as land designated 16th section, Holloway said.
The law states the school district could only lease out that campus for a minimum of 5 percent of its appraised value, he said, which roughly translates to about $60,000 annually.
Although a church and a private resident have inquired about the building’s availability, Holloway said, “I don’t know how many $65,000 people are out there. I don’t think they’re going to like the number.
“(Both county high schools are) ours, but I can’t recommend spending a lot of money (to maintain unused buildings),” he added. “If no one is in that building, there’s nothing we can do to keep it from becoming the worst thing you could imagine.”
The three school board members in attendance Tuesday – Keith Coble, Eric Heiselt and Jenny Turner – all signaled their interest to find educational uses for both campuses. Member Juliette Reese was connected to the meeting via phone but adjourned early since she had trouble viewing her e-packet, and member Lee Brand also left the meeting before discussions on the two high school campuses began.
“It’s a great idea moving forward. A vacant building is a dangerous issue, and I’d rather it be used by somebody,” Heiselt said.
Carl Smith covers Starkville and Oktibbeha County for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter @StarkDispatch
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