Jackson school board approves sale of Marshall Elementary to nonprofit for resilience hub
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Summary
The Jackson Public School District board voted to accept a proposal from the nonprofit 1 Voice to repurpose the vacant Marshall Elementary School as a community resilience hub; two trustees recused themselves before discussion.
The Jackson Public School District Board of Trustees voted to accept a proposal from the nonprofit 1 Voice to repurpose the vacant Marshall Elementary School and to proceed with surplus and sale procedures, board members said at a meeting on March 20.
The proposal would transform the Marshall site into a multipurpose resilience hub integrating housing, disaster response, workforce development, health care and sustainability, the district said. The proposers offered $441,000 for the property, about $9.92 per square foot; district staff told trustees the district's carrying cost was roughly $90,000 and about $1.93 per square foot as of 2022.
District officials described the repurposing effort as part of a broader facilities repurposing initiative intended to make vacant school sites productive for communities and to reduce ongoing carrying costs. The administration presented the single proposal the district received by the RFP deadline and said the facilities repurposing advisory and evaluation committee found it met evaluation standards.
Board discussion noted sustainability and workforce components in the proposal. During the meeting, two trustees recused themselves from deliberation because of potential conflicts of interest; the board minutes and presenters noted the recusal and that the two trustees left the room for the discussion and vote.
Jean moved to accept the committee recommendation and Mitch seconded. The chair called for the vote and several trustees responded "aye;" the motion passed.
The board did not adopt binding development agreements at the meeting. District staff said next steps would include final surplus actions, negotiation of purchase documents and any required approvals before conveyance.
The repurposing item was presented as part of a slate of facility and consent matters the district reviewed. The board recorded the motion and vote in its meeting minutes and then moved on to the remainder of the agenda.
