HUNTSVILLE, AL (WAFF) -
Huntsville City School officials appear ready to move on a new site for the new Grissom High School.
The city wants to use the current high school once the new one opens.
They said Mayor Tommy Battle has expressed interest in the city using the school's athletic fields, the gym, the theater, and maybe some other features.
First, the school system is moving towards getting a deal done for the land.
School system officials say the land is actually a better option than a plot on Weatherly Road, where they were previously looking to build. Like that space, this new site just south of there is owned by the Hays family.
They say it is more construction ready. The land is assessed at a higher value, but the Hays family is gifting more than 70 percent of it, so it would cost Huntsville City Schools less than $2.5-million to buy it. The Hays family would also give the city land for a nature park.
"We have a responsibility to educate our kids and provide the best possible resources for them, and I think we've done that," said Dr. Jennie Robinson with the Huntsville school board.
"We're here too to add value to our city, and the folks in that area. This ought to be a nice boost to property values and growth and all that. Of course, that feeds back to the tax base which doesn't hurt the kids either because that raises money back into the school system," said Dr. Casey Wardynski.
The board of education could vote next month to approve the purchase of the land.
They hope to begin building the new Grissom High School by May of next year, and the plan is to have it open for classes by August of 2016.
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The school system is moving towards getting a deal done for the land.
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