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Commissioners form task force to oversee RFP for sale of old Claxton School
Summary
The Anderson County budget committee voted to create a joint task force of four county commissioners and four school board members to draft and oversee an RFP for the sale of the old Claxton School property; commissioners discussed appraisal estimates, scoring procedures, lease‑back timing and community input.
The Anderson County Commission budget committee voted May 7 to form a task force charged with developing and administering a request for proposals (RFP) for the sale of the old Claxton School property.
The motion, made by Commissioner McNabb and seconded by Commissioner Allen, passed by voice vote. The committee instructed the task force to include four county commissioners and four school board members and to make the RFP publicly available so interested parties can respond.
Dr. Parrot, the school official who presented the proposal, said an RFP is the best available method to balance price and community priorities. He told commissioners the sale proceeds are intended to help cover a roughly $4 million gap in financing for the new Claxton Elementary project and outlined logistics the RFP should address, including a bidder’s proposed start date, whether the buyer would lease the building back to the school until the school opens in June, and point‑scoring criteria for evaluation. Dr. Parrot recommended the RFP weight cost heavily but include community‑oriented factors as allowable scoring categories.
Commissioners discussed appraisal values and timing. The assessor was cited as estimating a current market value in the $7 million–$7.8 million range, while an earlier 2024 appraisal had placed value near $4.1 million. Several commissioners emphasized maximizing return to help the county and school system cover remaining debt and new‑build needs; Commissioner Mary (speaker 12) urged the committee to consider how any excess proceeds above the identified funding gap would be allocated (for example, toward roads or additional school needs).
There were questions about who should perform technical scoring of proposals. Several members, including the mayor and finance staff, recommended that purchasing and finance personnel perform objective scoring rather than commissioners or school board members, and the motion was amended to specify that administrative staff (finance/purchasing) handle scoring and objective evaluation. Commissioners said the task force would select members and present the appointments at a future commission meeting.
A timeline discussed in the meeting projected the RFP could be released in early June and remain open 30–45 days, with final selections and approvals targeting October or November, subject to timing around commission seat turnover and any need to re‑post for newly sworn commissioners. Some commissioners suggested waiting until newly elected commissioners are sworn in (September 1 for the next class) before final appointments; others said that timeline could push the process into the following fall and that an earlier start was preferable to attract bidders.
The committee agreed the task force meetings will be public and that citizens may ask to serve or speak; commissioners noted they had already received citizen interest emails. The committee approved formation of the task force by voice vote and directed staff to prepare the RFP framework for upcoming workshops and commission consideration.
Next steps: staff will circulate the RFP draft and Dr. Parrot’s slideshow to all commissioners; the task force composition and scoring procedures will be finalized for a full commission vote before any sale or award is made.
