WOODLAWN - The Woodlawn School Board decided to pass on an offer to buy 33 acres of land near the school after the board and the owner of the property could not come to an agreement on the price.Meanwhile, the board also approved buying new software that will limit the websites students can access on their Chromebooks and it also decided to separate the contracts for the cafeteria expansion and the career education center.Superintendent Dr. Kevin Hancock told the board during its regular monthly meeting Monday night that he along with maintenance director Tony Holderfield and school board member Aaron Tooke walked the 33 acres of land located across Smith Road from the elementary school. Based on their assessment, most of the land is in a low-lying area that would not be suitable for building. They estimated about eight acres with some abandoned poultry houses along Hwy.63 would be the only site high enough for a building.During its January meeting, Hancock told the board that the owner of the property had approached him about selling it to the school district. The proposed price was $231,000, which equates to $7,000 per acre. Hancock said during the January meeting that the offer could give the distrit some land to use for future building projects like a new elementary, and possibly a district wastewater treatment facility. The board asked Hancock to find out more details about the exact boundaries of the property and gave him permission to negotiate an offer.During Monday night’s meeting, Hancock said an appraiser valued the land at $4,575.75 per acre. He said he offered the owner that amount but they declined. Hancock said he countered with an offer of $5,000 per acres, which equated to $165,000. The owner countered that $200,000 was the lowest they would go.After some discussion, the board decided to reject the offer since many felt paying $200,000 for what was essentially eight acres of suitable land was too much...
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