Hardee County commissioners hear East Academy pitch, discuss preserving Rest Haven as school

East Academy co-owners Blair Thornton and Brandy Hartline told the Hardee County Board of County Commissioners on Feb. 6 that their private school has grown from a handful of students in 2023 to more than 100 and asked the county to consider a partnership that could allow the school to make Rest Haven its permanent campus.

The presentation and ensuing discussion focused on East Academy’s model — small class sizes, a staff of certified teachers and family engagement — and on whether Rest Haven, a county-owned historic facility that the county has posted for public sale, could be preserved as a school. Brandy Hartline described East Academy’s approach to families and instruction and said, “The definition of fair is not everybody gets the same thing. The definition of fair is everybody gets what they need.”

East Academy said it began in 2023 with modest space and has expanded its programs and enrollment, now offering prekindergarten through eighth grade with plans to add ninth grade. The founders said the school seeks a permanent location outside city limits to enable agricultural-education programming, FFA activities and room for future expansion. They said they have located Rest Haven as an appealing site because of its size, heritage and out-of-city location, and asked the county whether a partnership could be formed to preserve and reuse the building for education.

County staff reported that Rest Haven has been posted for sale on the government auction site GovDeals and that an initial auction period closed with no offers; a later posting attracted thousands of page views and watchers. Staff said the current highest bid at the time of the update was $275,000, which staff said did not meet an appraised value they cited of $384,000. Commissioners and staff also discussed other posted price signals and a previously cited assessed value of $1,300,000; participants noted inconsistencies in listing and reserve information and asked staff to clarify the posted “buy it now” and reserve figures.

Commissioners expressed support for the idea of Rest Haven returning to a school or assisted-living use, but they did not take action to sell, lease or transfer the property at the Feb. 6 workshop. Instead, the board directed staff and the county attorney to continue the public posting through the current GovDeals listing cycle, to return at the March workshop with options for competitive disposal, and to present potential pathways that could include sale, lease (including triple-net options), or a structured partnership with a local organization such as East Academy. Commissioners also requested that staff obtain clear information about capital and regulatory constraints — in particular, septic and water-system requirements — and to commission or collect an independent structural inspection and an assessment of infrastructure needs so potential partners would know expected upgrades and costs.

County staff said there were no dollars budgeted this fiscal year for structural or engineering assessments and that procuring such reports would follow normal procurement and budgeting processes; staff indicated they would bring cost estimates and options back in March. The board asked staff to consider advertisement language and competitive processes that could limit acceptable uses (for example, educational or assisted-living uses) if the board wanted to preserve the site’s heritage and constrain future uses. The county attorney and manager cautioned that any request to limit responses must still be publicly advertised and conducted to ensure fairness and avoid spot-zoning or disproportionate liability for the county.

The item closed with commissioners broadly supportive of preserving Rest Haven’s historical character and expressing interest in partnering with a local school operator but emphasizing the need for transparent, competitive procedures and clear engineering and regulatory information before any commitment by the county.

No formal motion or final sale decision was recorded at the workshop; staff will report back at the March workshop with updated auction results, legal/financing options, and proposed advertisement language if the board wishes to narrow acceptable uses.