The Board of Education will look at a new contract for a proposed elementary school site Monday, revised by developer and former Commissioner Jim Moss.

The new contract removes restrictions and lowers the asking price.

The BOE has previously looked at a different contract for this site, which is at the intersection of Bert Winston and Long Mill roads, in conjunction with another contract for a potential high school site. One purchase had been contingent on the other.

The new contract is in response to discussion during a June 29 BOE meeting in which board members expressed interest in the property but concern with the original contract.

The contracts were brought to the BOE by Moss, who outlined his position June 29.

The property under consideration in the current contract is a 75-acre tract that is considered the best possible site for a new elementary school to serve the Youngsville and Franklinton areas, based on a preliminary cost comparison by architecture firm MBAJ.

The BOE had recommended a site in the northwest of the county for both schools - the Nassif property - but that was rejected by county commissioners.

At its last meeting the BOE decided to do further boring the potential elementary site to get more information on the soil and ground.

The borings should be taken by July 17, MBAJ architect and BOE consultant Jon Long said.

The new contract, however, expires July 15, but Moss is ready and willing to negotiate with the BOE, he said.

“My goal is to get to an acceptable agreement,” Moss said.

In the new contract, Moss has made many concessions after discussing the original contract with the BOE.

The price per acre is one change.

The original contract set a price of $39,500 per acre while the new contract sets a price of $35,000 per acre.

“Price is a big difference,” BOE attorney Boyd Sturges said. “The price is certainly a big issue.”

Other concessions include addition of the BOE to be the buyer party, addition of an existing boundary survey, deletion of a clause guaranteeing naming rights to the seller and deletion of a contingency requiring purchase of another property for a high school site.

These changes addressed concerns by board members during the June 29 BOE meeting, but there are other changes that were not requested by the BOE.

Through the original contract, the county could purchase 35 to 45 acres of the property. Through the new contract, the county could purchase 35 to 75 acres of the 75-acre property.

“It was a combination of conciliation and maybe just adding some flexibility,” Moss said of this change to the contract.

Moss also added a buy-back clause that stipulates that he will buy the property back from the county if it decides that it is not suitable for its needs.

The county must make this decision by Dec. 31, 2006, and allow the seller until Dec. 31, 2008, to repurchase the land.

This clause was originally suggested by Moss as an amendment to the original contract as a way to give the BOE more time to investigate the land.

Other concerns of board members have not been addressed in the new contract.

In the June 29 meeting, board members expressed concern over earnest money requirements, a tax benefits clause and utility and access availability requirements that were in the first contract.

These are written into the current contract in the same way.

The question of utilities and authority to do such by the BOE remains unclear.

Though Moss did not re-submit a contract on his proposed high school site, he said that he would still be willing to sell this site for that purpose.

He also said that he might offer other properties for a high school site but thinks that this site on Bert Winston Road near Hicks Road is a good site.

“I don’t know if I can do any better than that,” he said.

The BOE is still moving forward with high school site selection and will look at sites that they had originally considered as well as new options, Long said.

“It’s just a matter of talking back through them and letting the board decide where to go,” he said.

The BOE must take its decision on either an elementary or a high school site to the county commissioners for final approval.

Property and construction costs in the county are rising and money from the 2004 school bond is continuing to get tied up with projects at other schools.

“The goal is to get back to the commissioners as soon as possible,” Long said.