School sale sparks debate
Pictured are members of the Claxton Elementary School Sale Task Force at a July 27 meeting. From left are Board of Education members Don Bell and Katherine Birkbeck, Director of Schools Tim Parrott, Board of Education Chair Scott Gillenwaters, Board of Education member Jo Williams, county Mayor Terry Frank, and county Commissioners Sabra Beauchamp and Chad McNabb. (photo:Ben Pounds )
Anderson County Director of Schools Tim Parrott explained the plan and reasoning behind the sale during the June 21 meeting.
The school system is building a new school nearby at Crossroads Christ Fellowship Church, 105 Fellowship Lane.
To help pay for the new school, the county hopes to sell the current campus at 2218 Clinton Highway for at least $4 million.
Residents offered a variety of ideas for the property’s future. One speaker said the site should not be sold to a private buyer. Another suggested it become a one-story senior living community.
Others proposed setting aside part of the property as a public park or including park space on the grounds of the new school.
Discussion about a new park comes as the county prepares to replace Claxton’s Kids’ Palace playground near Bull Run Fossil Plant after it was closed at the request of the Tennessee Valley Authority.
The county later received a donation from Type One Energy to help build a new park at a location yet to be determined.
Parrott said any decision to divide the property into separate parcels would be made by the Anderson County Commission.
Several speakers also said they opposed the property becoming a junkyard, industrial park, low-income apartment complex or, in one resident’s opinion, a strip mall.
Parrott said several factors make some of those uses unlikely.
Because the property will be sold to the highest bidder, he said a junkyard is unlikely. He also noted the property is currently zoned R-1 residential, and even if it is rezoned, the likely designation would be C-1 commercial, which would not allow industrial development.
Parrott told The Courier News the property could be auctioned under its current R-1 zoning with a contingency allowing the Anderson County Regional Planning Commission to consider rezoning it to C-1 if necessary.
Parrott said the property totals 1.75 acres.
According to the Tennessee Assessor of Property, the site has an appraised value of $7,843,100. A private appraisal completed in 2024 valued the property at $4,165,000.
“Whatever happens to this building, whatever happens to this property, we want it to add value to the Claxton community,” Parrott said.
Sale timeline
Parrott said during the June 21 meeting that the auction was expected to take place Nov. 1-15, with the sale finalized in December.
Under that timeline, proceeds from the sale would be available to help pay construction costs by Jan. 1.
The buyer would lease the school back to Anderson County Schools from January through June 2027 so students could continue attending classes until the new school opens.
After meeting July 27 with members of the Claxton Task Force, which is advising the county on the sale, Parrott said February, March and April are generally stronger months for commercial property sales than November or December.
He said the task force planned to consult Anderson County Law Director James Brooks about whether the county could legally delay the sale while still meeting its financial commitments for the new school.
He added that the school system could not begin the sale process much earlier because most buyers would not want to purchase property years before they could take possession.
“You can’t sell a piece of property two years before you’re ready to give it to them,” he said.
