Andover school district announces land updates

April 03, 2006

The Andover Public School district has ceased eminent domain proceedings on land at 159^th Street and Sharon Lane. The announcement was made during a news conference Monday morning (April 3) at the USD 385 District Office. Click here to view a video podcast of the news conference.

�The Board listened to its constituents and continued the search for another excellent site for an elementary school,� said USD 385 Board of Education President Dale Graham. �After much work, especially on the part of Board members Jeff Ablah and Roger Elliott, another site has been located, and we hope to have a contract finalized very soon.�

That site, according to Andover Superintendent of Schools Mark A. Evans, is in the 21^st Street area near 143^rd Street. The 21^st Street corridor has been an area of explosive growth in the Andover school district. Evans said he hopes to have a contract on the land to present for approval to the Board of Education at its regular meeting at 7 p.m. Monday, April 10, at the District Office.

Superintendent of Schools Mark A. Evans and BOE President Dale Graham spoke at a news conference April 3.

�We worked diligently to find another site in Sedgwick County after the plans for the 159^th Street land changed,� Evans said. �This new site is the result of our effort to accommodate those changed plans, and we wish them the very best as they move forward.�

Community members of the Andover school district passed a $39.68 million bond issue by a nearly 3 to 1 margin last September. Included in the bond issue is the building of three new elementary schools. Infrastructure costs, including land acquisition, were already set in the bond issue � the school district has dealt with the challenge of trying to purchase land for approximately $15,000 an acre in an area of explosive growth. While the site the district hopes to have a contract on cost $17,500 an acre, the district has still paid an average of $15,000 an acre. This is because the site on 159^th Street just north of 21^st Street that the school district purchased for an elementary school to open in Fall 2007 cost only $12,500 an acre. This first of the new elementary schools will be part of the Cornerstone Development.

�We appreciate developer George Laham for his willingness to work with the school district,� Evans said. �The site we purchased in Cornerstone for $250,000 has already appraised at well over $1 million.�

Andover Public Schools currently educates more than 4,000 students in four elementary schools, two middle schools and two high schools.

Superintendent of Schools Mark A. Evans and BOE President Dale Graham answer questions at a news conference April 3.

�Our mission is to provide a high quality educational experience for all students based on sound educational principles and research,� Graham said. �We are fortunate to have dedicated young people who understand the importance education will play in their future. With the commitment of parents, staff, the board of education and the community at large, the students of our district will be prepared for the future.�