TRUXTON, N.Y. – A community organization looking to form a charter school at the recently shuttered Hartnett Elementary School building in Truxton has secured the winning bid for the building in an online auction.
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Truxton Alumni & Community Supporters purchased the building with a $51,000 bid in an online auction that concluded on Thursday, according to an organizer with the group. The property had been valued at $1.4 million and was estimated to have a market value of $400,000.
The building was put up for auction by the Homer Central School District's Board of Education earlier this year after the district voted to shutter the building as a cost-saving measure.
Patty Dawson, an organizer with the Truxton group, said the organization will continue to pursue plans for a charter school at the Hartnett building, though the initial plan is to turn the building into a community center.
"Any of the planning we are doing, we are not taking lightly," Dawson said, as the group hopes to incorporate a library, a preschool and a recreation program at the building. She said the town's recreation program has been in flux since the building closed in July.
If the proposed charter school gets approval from the state, a portion of the building would be leased as a community center, Dawson said.
The sale of the building still needs final approval from the Homer school board, which plans to hold a special meeting Thursday to discuss the sale.
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