School board ranks developer Sam Kellett first for two former school sites; schedules vote next Monday

The Lee County School Board on Monday night provisionally ranked proposals for three surplus school properties, favoring applicant Sam Kellett’s plan for two sites while placing another applicant, Tyler Shabrick, second for the separate 2.25-acre lot. The board agreed to reconvene at a special meeting next Monday at 5 p.m. to vote on contracts and any protections or stipulations.

Board member (Speaker 1), who presided over the workshop, outlined that the Pineda School property is split between the school building and a separate 2-acre lot and asked the board whether the parcels should be disposed of jointly or separately. Multiple board members said the parcels should be considered individually. "If they were really interested they'd be at the table," Speaker 1 said of an absent proposer, True Wisdom, a point several members repeated as they weighed which proposals to advance.

The board heard two principal applicants: Sam Kellett and Tyler Shabrick. Kellett (first appearing at SEG 121), who described his plan as a "multi domain autonomous systems center of excellence," emphasized training and classroom partnerships with local students and said the separate 2-acre lot provides a needed takeoff area and privacy for drone manufacturing operations. "It is ideal...and that's a 50 second flight to the MOA," Kellett said, explaining why that lot is important to his proposal.

Shabrick (first appearing at SEG 171) presented a competing, housing-focused plan and described a straight cash offer. "My cash offer stands," Shabrick said, noting the 2.25-acre lot could potentially support two homes under county septic rules and that he had a mobile home ready to place on the property if awarded. At the workshop Board member (Speaker 3) disclosed that Kellett had updated his proposal to a cash offer of $50,000 to cover both Lee and Pineda properties.

Board members repeatedly framed their deliberations around community benefit. Several members cited constituent preference for job-creating uses that also offer opportunities for students; another member urged preserving the historic school building for educational use. At least one board member said housing on the small lot could "impede" recruiting job-focused tenants, while others noted the county’s housing shortage and expressed interest in both outcomes.

The town of Greenville remains the sole active proposer for the Greenville Elementary property after True Wisdom did not attend the meeting, Speaker 7 said. Board members acknowledged the Greenville site’s historical significance—one speaker recounted that two Black men purchased the land for the community during segregation—and emphasized the need for contractual accountability if the board moves forward with the town’s proposal.

Rather than voting at the workshop, the board agreed to rank proposals and defer a formal vote until a special meeting next Monday at 5 p.m., with attorneys present to assist on contract language and protections. Board members asked staff and volunteer board members (Speaker 4 and Speaker Logan) to draft suggested stipulations and first-right-of-refusal language for properties that might be resold.

The workshop ended with a preliminary consensus to rank Sam Kellett first and Tyler Shabrick second for the 2-acre parcel and to rank Kellett first for the Lee and Pineda properties; the rankings are subject to confirmation at the special meeting.