By Rebecca Rider
rebecca.rider@salisburypost.com

SALISBURY — It’s been four months since the Rowan-Salisbury Board of Education delayed a decision of the Long Street office — but Monday, the board sealed its fate.

The building, located at 110 N. Long St. in East Spencer, served as the school system’s administrative offices since the county and city systems merged in the late 1980s. When the school system moved home in March, the building’s future was up in the air. By late June, the board had received two bids for the property, which includes the offices and 6 acres.

Bids came from the Paul L. Dunbar Group, a nonprofit organization seeking to transform the old building into a charter school and community center, and from an out-of-state property management company, George Duncan of Gold Nugget Properties.

But at a June 30 called meeting, representatives from the town of East Spencer, including Mayor Barbara Mallett, asked the board to put off accepting a bid until the end of the year.

The board had been in talks with East Spencer about the building since 2014, but until recently, the town expressed reluctance to actually buy the property.

The town recently received a Brownfield grant, which provided them with $400,000 to do an assessment to find possible uses for the property. They were also working with the Development Finance Initiative with the UNC School of Government to find a suitable use and potential investors. At the time,  East Spencer was considering turning the property into a senior living facility.

Mallett’s plea for a six-month hold on the discussion was granted in a 5-2 vote, with board members Dr. Richard Miller and Dean Hunter voting against.

But Monday, the board agreed unanimously to forge ahead with the property. The topic has been an item of discussion on the board’s closed session agenda since October, and Monday a consensus was reached.

After a closed session discussion, board member Chuck Hughes made a motion to suspend the previous vote to table the discussion and to accept East Spencer’s offer for the building. Miller seconded, and the motion passed unanimously. Hunter was absent.

“We just didn’t think there was any reason to wait,” board Chair Josh Wagner said.

The two most recent bids the board received for the property came from the Essie Mae Kiser Foxx Charter School, formerly the Dunbar group, and from the town of East Spencer, Wagner said. The charter school offered a lease agreement for the property, but since the organization charter has not yet been granted by the state the board chose to accept East Spencer’s offer.

The final price tag for the building is $10,000, but according to the purchase agreement, the town has two years to pay it. Once the town has closed on the property, it will pay the board $2,000. The other $8,000 is due exactly two years from the closing date.

“I’m excited it gets to remain there,” Wagner said of the building.

This was the board’s only meeting for the month of November. The board will meet again on Dec. 12 at 5 p.m., with public comment at 6 p.m., in the Wallace Educational Forum board room, 500 N. Main St.

Contact reporter Rebecca Rider at 704-797-4264.