MOBILE, Alabama – The Mobile County school board took action on two long-running historic property matters during its Monday night meeting, approving a formal agreement with the Barton Academy Foundation and finalizing a sales contract for two century-old former school buildings.
Board members approved a sales contract for the Old Shell Road School and Russell School buildings, both roughly 100 years old, moving forward on a deal first outlined in October when the board accepted a letter of intent to sell the properties for $800,000 to a Georgia-based developer. Monday’s vote represented the next formal step in finalizing that sale. The developer was represented locally by a Mobile-based real estate professional who is also handling the separate sale of the former Augusta Evans Special School on Florida Street to an out-of-state acquisitions firm for roughly $1.55 million.
Separately, the board approved a memorandum of understanding with the Barton Academy Foundation, formalizing a partnership between the school system and the foundation as they work together on fundraising efforts tied to transforming the historic Barton Academy building into an international school. The school system already has a roughly $2.8 million contract with a local construction firm to restore the exteriors of both Barton Academy and the adjacent Yerby School, with work that began the previous month expected to wrap up by the following August. Superintendent Martha Peek told the board the new agreement gives the foundation a clearer formal role in supporting that broader transformation effort.
During the public comment portion of the meeting, board members heard from two Mobile County residents. One parent raised concerns about technology resources available at Grant Elementary School, where his child is enrolled. A representative of the Williamson High School Alumni Association told the board her organization was concerned about the school’s long-term enrollment outlook, citing the possibility that a nearby housing redevelopment project could eventually affect the surrounding student population. The board’s president responded that the district had no official information yet on the housing project but would share updates with the public once documentation became available from the local housing authority.
In other business, the board approved a no-cost agreement with a regional university’s nursing school to provide clinical learning opportunities for undergraduate and graduate nursing students within the district. Board members also approved roofing contracts for a building at B.C. Rain High School and for the school system’s central office building, along with a contract to host the district’s second annual student recognition awards ceremony the following spring.
The combination of historic preservation efforts and routine facility maintenance approved Monday reflects the broad range of capital and community partnership decisions the school board regularly manages across Mobile County’s public school system.