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Board votes to proceed with demolition at Shanks site amid appeals to save donated building
Summary
Trustees voted to continue scheduled demolition of a building on the James A. Shanks Middle School site to make way for new-school construction, despite public and board-member calls to investigate whether the structure was donated and could be moved or preserved.
The Gadsden County School Board voted to proceed with the scheduled demolition of a building on the James A. Shanks Middle School campus after extended discussion about whether the structure had been donated to the district and could be salvaged.
Several board members and members of the public urged the board to delay demolition while staff and the board attorney reviewed property records. A caller and other participants said a local family had donated the building and asked whether the district could sell it or allow a third party to move it off campus. Board counsel advised the trustees they must check deeds to determine whether any restrictions exist and that disposal of school property must meet statutory requirements and be in the public interest.
Board attorney (recorded in the meeting as the board attorney) told the trustees that the legal review should include searches for deed restrictions and an analysis of the statutory disposal-of-property rules; “It has to be for public interest,” the attorney said. The attorney also noted that some deed restrictions may be outdated and require review of the deed’s age and language before determining legal effect.
Staff and trustees discussed practical hurdles to moving the structure. District staff described the building as sitting on piers with a crawl space and noted that moving a building with that setup would require jacking and placing it on a steel rail with wheels — a process participants said could be time-consuming and expensive. Board members estimated moving costs in the discussion (one board member cited an estimate “about $17,000” and another suggested “maybe around 30 [thousand]”), but the district did not provide an audited cost estimate at the meeting.
Allstate Construction, the firm the board engaged as construction manager for the new-school project, had scheduled staging and demolition to begin in early June, district staff said. Trustees and staff discussed whether alternate staging areas on the campus could be used to preserve the building, but staff said available adjacent areas are on a slope and not suitable for staging; the planned staging area would require clearing the building.
After debate, Board member Scott moved that the district proceed as scheduled with demolition. The board approved the motion by voice vote; the superintendent was directed to move forward with the project as planned while the attorney and staff follow up on any deed or legal restrictions discovered in a records search.
The board did not adopt any requirement to pause demolition while the legal review is performed; members who pressed for preservation said they may pursue additional verification of the donation and alternate options separately. The board asked staff and the attorney to report back with any documented deed restrictions or legal impediments.
