TEXARKANA, Texas -- The Pleasant Grove Independent School District Board of Trustees approved a resolution to enter into a real estate contract for the purchase of its former elementary school property during a regular meeting on Tuesday night.
The campus is at 6500 Pleasant Grove Road.
Previously, the district swapped this property for the property at 2800 Galleria Oaks, then owned by CHRISTUS St. Michael Health System. On it, PGISD built its current campus, Margaret Fischer Davis Elementary School.
Now, the district is considering buying the property back from CHRISTUS, which is looking to sell.
Superintendent Chad Pirtle said this resolution does not confirm a purchase of the property, but it allows the district to move towards the negotiation process.
"In the contract, we have first right of refusal if they ever want to sell it," Pirtle said. "With that, this resolution basically states that we're interested in looking into potentially purchasing the property. And if we get to a point where we're ready to move forward on anything, it gives me authorization to execute any documents or anything that's needed to purchase the property."
When asked what PGISD has planned to do with the property, Pirtle said there is nothing set in stone at the moment. He said it will provide future flexibility and an array of options if the need for more property or space presents itself.
This cost of the potential purchase would be determined during negotiations. If purchased, it would be a total of 4.352 acres to the district's gain.
In other news, the board heard updates from Pirtle and Director of Operations Matt Fry about a Career and Technical Education addition to the high school.
Fry said the addition would include six classrooms, two labs, a television studio and more.
Pirtle said he recently met with an architect about the project, and that a contractor could potentially be hired by next month to move towards beginning the project.
Financial Director Derick Sibley conducted a public hearing on the district's Financial Integrity Rating System for the 2019-2020 fiscal year. The district received a rating of "Superior" and a score of 94, according to officials.
The board approved the purchase of 250 Chromebooks at a heavily discounted rate for freshmen at the high school. The cost would be $35,250.
During communication information updates, it was reported that the district only had two COVID cases so far during the month of October.
Enrollment for the district is as follows: high school 764, middle school 542, intermediate 466 and elementary 545.
There have been earlier conversations about buying this property," the agenda packet says.
"This resolution will authorize and approve entering into a real estate contract for the purchase of the property," according to the agenda packet. "This resolution will also authorize the Superintendent to negotiate and sign a real estate sales contract for the purchase of the property, tender the purchase price, and the amount of closing and other costs to the title company for payment to the seller of the property, and execute any other documents necessary to effect the purchase."
The school district recently opened up a new elementary school 2800 Galleria Oaks.