DeBARY, Fla. – Volusia County Schools pulled the plug Tuesday on discussing the possibility of selling land that is set aside for a K-8 school in DeBary.
The discussion about negotiating a land sale of 48 acres off 25 Buckley Drive was an agenda item for Tuesday’s meeting.
A South Florida-based real estate firm sent the school board a letter on Nov. 18 with intent to purchase the land for $5 million to build 200 homes.
At the beginning of the meeting, school board members decided to postpone these talks and removed the item from the agenda.
“I think it’s important that folks understand there was a lot of misconceptions on that item when it was put on the agenda,” Volusia School Board Vice Chair Ruben Colon said. “As we continue to work with our municipal partners and making the school a reality in DeBary, I think it’s very prudent to not consider this today.”
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It was not revealed if or when the school board was going to discuss selling this land at a future time, or rather discuss beginning construction of the K-8 school.
Once built, it would provide relief to the city and school district as there is only one public school in DeBary, and it’s only K-5. The district previously sent News 6 data which revealed that in 2022, 16 schools were over capacity as more than 200,000 homes were projected to be built in the county.
“We’re looking at the growth in Volusia County. We all know Florida is growing a lot right now, and it’s growing in some spaces more than others,” District Spokesperson Danielle Johnson previously told News 6.
To continue, Volusia School Board Chair Jamie Haynes clarified that the board was not going to sell the Buckley Drive property on Tuesday.
“It would never be sold until it would come back before the board, and we would have to vote on that and approve the sale of the property,” Haynes said. “So, I want to clarify that because I, too, have heard a lot of different information out there. And when people are putting out misinformation, it is our responsibility to correct that information.”
Meanwhile, this property was approved to be used for a new K-8 school by the DeBary City Council in July, according to the city’s website.
“This location was chosen to align with DeBary’s vision for balanced, sustainable growth while minimizing neighborhood impacts,” a statement on the city’s website reads.
However, developers started asking the school district to build the school on an alternative site off Shell Road and Spring Vista Drive. DeBary City Manager Carmen Rosamonda previously told News 6 this area is not large enough and it would have a negative impact on nearby neighborhoods.
DeBary city council members also officially decided that the Shell Road site is “inconsistent with the city’s comprehensive plan” during the Jan. 15 meeting, per the city’s website.
“This site that’s been tied up by a developer is not the right location for a school because of its impacts not only to the road infrastructure, but to the businesses and the neighboring residents,” Rosamonda said.
On the other hand, Violet Brown, who is a part of the educational facilities office at the Florida Department of Education, spoke in front of the city on Jan. 15.
She said the school board worked with the FDOE and she supported the plans for construction off Shell Road. There were, however, concerns over the Buckley site, she said, and a school cannot be built there per the assessment she and her team did.
Issues Brown and her team found during this required assessment include hazardous walking conditions, possible site contamination because of a nearby auto salvage yard and 12 acres of wetlands on the property, she said.
“I have heard a lot of the community members talking about ‘not a school in their neighborhood,’” Brown said. “From a standpoint that we saw there are some environmental concerns on the Buckley site and there needs to be some due diligence.”
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