Copyright M Live Michigan
SWARTZ CREEK, MI - The potential sale of Morrish Elementary School for $40 million is officially off the table, according to Swartz Creek Interim Superintendent Jim Kitchen. Kitchen confirmed this week that the Swartz Creek Board of Education has rejected the Flint & Genesee Economic Alliance’s offer to buy the school as part of the proposed 1,300-acre Advanced Manufacturing District southwest of Flint. “The board voted to reject the $40 million offer but told [the alliance] they would consider a higher bid,” Kitchen said in an email to MLive/The Flint Journal. “The alliance responded with the acceptance of the rejection and confirmed that they would be good neighbors during the development. I’m not sure if there will be any future communications regarding a proposal, but it’s clearly dead at this time.” The district had announced the decision in an Oct. 30 letter to the community, saying negotiations for the potential sale had concluded after months of public debate and growing controversy over how the discussions were handled. In that letter, Kitchen wrote that the Board of Education “reviewed and carefully considered all aspects of the proposal” before deciding to decline the offer. The prospective purchaser, he said, expressed “respect for the board’s decision” and reaffirmed its commitment to being “a good neighbor” as development continues in the surrounding area. The $40 million offer was part of a larger state effort to assemble land for the megasite, which Michigan officials hope will attract a major manufacturer and create thousands of jobs. Morrish Elementary, home to more than 400 students, sits within the footprint of the proposed development. Tyler Rossmaessler, executive director of the Flint & Genesee Economic Alliance, provided a statement to MLive confirming the alliance’s stance on the matter. “The decision to sell the school is ultimately a local one made by the school district’s Board of Education,” he said. “We respect their decision and look forward to a continued partnership with the district. Our offer to Swartz Creek Community Schools was a fair one based on guidance from the district on their needs and an independent third-party analysis. “Our organization is committed to being a good neighbor by striving to minimize any potential inconvenience for students and their families during construction at the Advanced Manufacturing District (AMD) of Genesee County. We remain confident that an advanced manufacturing facility and a school can coexist safely, and we will continue to do our part to help ensure consistent communication and outreach efforts about ongoing construction at the AMD.”
