DATE: Tuesday, November 11, 1997            TAG: 9711110279

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B1   EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA 

SOURCE: BY PAUL SOUTH, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: KILL DEVIL HILLS                  LENGTH:   72 lines

STEPS TAKEN TOWARD NEW SCHOOL SITE THE LAND IS NEXT TO PROPERTY THE BOARD OF EDUCATION ALREADY OWNS.

Negotiations to buy more land for a beach high school began Monday night.

The Kill Devil Hills Board of Commissioners and the Dare County Board of Education met for about an hour, in the first of what is expected to be a series of meetings on a 15.5-acre tract on Veterans Drive. The land is adjacent to 37.7 acres of school-owned property.

Meanwhile, a 56-member facilities panel will hold its inaugural meeting tonight. Appointed by the seven-member school board, the group will divide into four subcommittees. Citizens from throughout the county will gather facts on school curriculum, demographics, finance and maintenance.

Monday night's discussions were basically to test the waters about a possible land deal between the town and the school district. And it looks as though the town has a willing buyer.

In fact, about 40 citizens packed the town hall to express support for a land deal. The crowd clapped wildly when Commissioner Jimmy Dean Hanks asked if they supported the sale.

The 15.5 acres were appraised at $240,000 in 1994. A new appraisal would have to be done before a sale.

Board of Education Member Loretta Michael said the tract is prime property for school construction.

``This is a very buildable site,'' Michael said. ``That's important in terms of tax dollars. That's very important to the taxpayers.''

The additional parcel would bring the size of the school district's Run Hill tract to 53.2 acres. The system got 37.7 acres as part of a complex land swap among Kill Devil Hills, the school district and The Nature Conservancy in 1994.

The pact provided land for a new high school near the First Flight schools, as well as protection for environmentally sensitive Run Hill.

Earlier this year, the town's five-member board discussed a possible sale. Superintendent Leon Holleman said the school district welcomes any opportunity to buy more land.``Given the situation with land in Dare County, we have to take advantage of any opportunity we have to purchase additional property,'' Holleman said.

A number of studies, including the school district's most recent facilities plan, has advocated a second high school north of Oregon Inlet. In May, the defeated $59.5 million bond issue included a beach high school.

During the bond debate, some citizens advocated one high school to serve students from Roanoke Island, the northern beaches and the Dare County mainland.

Dare County Board of Education Chairman Fletcher Willey said that the additional Kill Devil Hills property makes one high school north of the inlet more plausible.

``It's not a clincher,'' Willey said. ``One of the concerns we had about one high school north of the inlet was that we didn't have enough land. The additional property would, however, make it more doable.''

At the school board's direction, Holleman secured Kitty Hawk attorney Robert Outten to work as its counsel in the land negotiations. Funding would likely come from the county's $5.88 million share of a statewide school construction bond approved by North Carolinians last year.

No specific timetable was set for the deal. However, as part of the process, the Dare County Board of Education would first have to formally approve moving forward in pursuit of the land acquisition. Following appraisal of the land and an agreement with Kill Devil Hills, the board of commissioners would have to grant final approval.

As for tonight's meeting, it is the first for the 56-member panel. The information it gathers will be submitted to a second group, which will make recommendations to the school board.

From there, a new facilities plan will be drafted by the Board of Education. ILLUSTRATION: MEETING

The Dare County Board of Education will meet at 7:30 tonight in the

Commissioners' Meeting Room in Manteo. The public is invited.

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