The Wichita School District may have a fight on its hands in the effort to buy land for the expansion of North High.
At Monday's board meeting, members voted to begin the condemnation process on 10 properties just north of the school, after the district was unable to find the owners, or reach an agreement with them to sell.
In all, the district plans to buy and destroy 31 homes to make way for better athletic facilities at North, as approved in the 2008 school bond issue.
"Our offers were very fair, based on fair market value, plus relocation to another area that might have more expensive houses," said USD 259 Director of Operations Denise Wren. "The owners just came back with higher costs than what we were willing to pay," she added.
Wren says offers were made at the appraised value, plus an average of $18,000 to offset the cost of moving to a more expensive part of town.
Seven homeowners are still holding out for better deals and three have been unreachable, forcing the district to begin the condemnation process.
The next step is for a court to appoint three appraisers to set a fair price for each home. The district's offer to pay extra for relocation and moving expenses will still stand, Wren said.
