A property purchase for the new Pre-K- second grade school may be getting closer to a decision by the Board of Education.

During a work session prior to Thursday night’s monthly meeting, the board asked a committee to contact two property owners near Northside Elementary School for the purpose of negotiations and report back to the board on the outcome at its next regular monthly meeting on May 7.

The committee, appointed by Board Chairman Danny Parkerson in March, is made up of fellow board members W.J. (Dub) Evins III and Doug Stephens along with Director of Schools Patrick Cripps. Their mission is to formally recommend where to purchase approximately 25 acres of additional property (possibly adjacent to Northside Elementary School) to be funded (land purchase) by the school system.

The sites currently under consideration are owned by Dr.’s Cripps, Rhody & Hooper, General Partnership and the Steve Colvert family.

“We have been talking about land near Northside Elementary School and we have been behind the doctors’ building and walked it. Between the three of us (committee) we all like that land as well as the Colvert property. I would like to see if we could go ahead and start negotiating with them to make a purchase in one of those areas for the new facility,” said Director Cripps Thursday night.

“I think we need to go ahead and make an offer one way or another to somebody and get the ball rolling. I think you as a committee could negotiate a price between the two (landowners) and bring one (recommendation) back to the board for us to discuss and hopefully vote on,” said Board Chairman Parkerson.

In addition to the purchase price, the board will have to consider the site prep costs based on the topography, the amount of fill dirt which may be needed, and the land compaction rate at each site.