GUILFORD COUNTY, N.C. — For four years, the halls of Erwin Montessori and Hampton Elementary lay bare. Students and staff had to relocate after the schools were badly damaged in an EF-2 tornado in 2018. Four years later, Guilford County Schools will try to sell off the properties.
The school board voted during its June 14 meeting to designate the former schools as surplus properties. Qualified buyers can make an offer to purchase those properties: one off Bessemer Avenue; the other off Trade Street.
It's unclear how much a purchase would cost. It's also unclear exactly where the money earned in a sale would go.
Erwin Montessori, Hampton Elementary and Peeler Elementary were all badly damaged in the 2018 Greensboro tornado. The buildings were deemed unsafe for instructional use. Nearly 1,000 students and staff had to relocate to other facilities as a result.
Erwin Montessori students and staff went to Alamance Elementary. Hampton relocated to Reedy Fork Elementary. Peeler relocated to Bluford Elementary.
In the years since, the district came up with new plans for the schools. The board voted to close Hampton in 2019. They demolished Peeler Elementary, planning to replace it with a new visual and performing arts magnet school. Erwin Montessori will move into a renovated Archer Elementary School facility, a move outlined in the GCS Facilities Master Plan. Money from the school bond approved in 2020 will pay for it.
