JACKSON SCHOOL LAND BUY RESEMBLES PRIOR DEAL

JACKSON, Mo. Fighting to free landlocked Jackson High School for future expansion, Jackson school officials plan to purchase two houses on West Monroe Street and turn them into parking lots.

School officials said the timing of the purchases, just prior to voter consideration of a bond proposal Nov. 7 that requires a four-sevenths majority for passage, won't affect the outcome of the election.

However, a similar purchase last spring was ill-received by some district residents. They accused the Jackson Board of Education of using poor judgment when the district purchased 16 acres of land at $20,000 per acre east of Jackson for future construction of an elementary school.

The purchase was finalized just prior to the April elections, when voters rejected a tax hike and a bonding proposal that would have provided necessary funding for the new school. Some residents said the land purchase fueled their rejection of the measures.

Schools Superintendent Dr. Ron Anderson said he doesn't expect land acquisition around the high school to be negatively received by district residents. Nor will voters retaliate by voting down a Nov. 7 bond proposal to ease overcrowding at R.O. Hawkins Junior High School, he said.

"These are two completely separate situations. We're acquiring property for two different purposes," said Anderson. "I think if people really analyze the situation as to what we need to do, they'll say we need to do what's right for the district and keep that in mind whether there's a vote or not."

School officials are negotiating the purchase of two properties near 418 W. Monroe, a property purchased by the district last year. Anderson said efforts to buy the properties began after owners individually approached the district about six weeks ago offering to sell.

While approving bill payments during a meeting last week, the School Board authorized two $500 escrow payments as part of contract negotiations. Anderson would not confirm the anticipated cost to acquire the two properties, but said it "wouldn't eat up half of the amount" appropriated by the district for land acquisition this year, which means it's less than $175,000.

Anderson said the School Board prioritized land acquisition near the high school campus "because if something does become available, we need to be able to make a decision."

The lack of unused space around the high school makes it imperative the district buy up land whenever possible, he said. Missouri law permits school districts to acquire land for future use as long as funding is available. Details of the contracts, including purchase prices and exact locations of the properties, may be kept confidential until the contracts are finalized.

The high school campus is largely landlocked to the east by Jackson Cemetery and several parking lots, to the north by First Baptist Church, and to the south by Hwy. 34.

"We have limited choices in facilities and parking," said Anderson. "Our intent is to take that property and immediately make it into a parking area."

The majority of students who drive to school park on city streets. Road Lt. Robert Bonney of the Jackson Police Department said the streets surrounding the high school campus are lined with students' cars, but traffic flow is only a problem just prior to and after school and when students leave campus for lunch.

Bonney said additional off-street parking would relieve congestion in the vicinity of the campus..