The Jefferson Parish School Board will be holding on to the former Haynes Academy campus on Metairie Road following concerns that the property wouldn’t fetch a fair price in the current real estate market.
The School Board voted 7-2 Wednesday evening to remove the land from its list of properties to be sold. The property could still be listed down the line if the market improves or it could be used for a new school, according to School Board member Clay Moise, who authored the motion.
Superintendent James Gray said he’d need at least a month to come up with a plan for how the facility could be used. His current focus, he said, is students returning to school. Moise said a potential school could help the district replace existing buildings with newer, more modern facilities.
“We really need a strategic plan to revision what this district is going to look like,” Moise said after the meeting.
Haynes Academy relocated to the former Grace King High School campus as one of several schools to move or close last year under a districtwide consolidation.
It was the largest of 13 schools approved for demolition and sale, and the only of those sites large enough to be redeveloped into a modern school, Moise said.
The 8.3-acre tract was first appraised for $12.3 million, a number much lower than expected, prompting Moise to begin pondering alternative plans for the site.
A second appraisal was conducted once the building was nearly demolished, but that estimate came in even lower at under $10 million.
The Haynes site has been the source of consternation for Metairie residents who worried that potential new businesses in the location might lead to worsening drainage and traffic issues.
School Board members in opposition argued they shouldn’t go back on their decision to sell the property after investing money into demolishing the previous school.
“These discussions should have taken place over a year ago when we were first looking at consolidation,” said board member Steven Guitterrez. “I’m continuously seeing, frankly, a waste of public funds that we’re putting into this property, tearing it down and not getting the most that we can get from the properties.”