Attorney General's office questions Forsyth County land purchase

<p>The state Attorney General's Office has criticized the Forsyth County school board for spending $3.25 million this summer to buy 25 acres of land without a public vote.</p><p>"State law permits deliberation to occur in a nonpublic arena, but the vote ought to be taken in a public meeting," said Daryl Robinson, counsel to the attorney general.</p><p>The public learned of the purchase at a school board meeting Thursday. The land will be used for a new elementary school.</p><p>But there was never a recorded vote, secret or otherwise on the purchase. Robert Sewell, Forsyth County's chief of facilities and operations, negotiated and bought the land with the board's consent but without a formal vote.</p><p>School officials say discussing real estate purchases in public can drive up the cost of the land.</p><p>Nancy Roche, Forsyth County School Board chairwoman, said the school board follows the guidance of the district's attorney, Phil Hartley of Harbin and Hartley, which represents 120 school districts statewide and the Georgia School Boards Association.</p><p>Hartley said he disagrees with the attorney general. The school board is permitted to vote _ or not _ to buy land in a closed meeting and to keep that action secret until the deal is closed or abandoned, he said.</p><p>"This is not even close," Hartley said. "In this case, I think folks are espousing what they want the law to be, and there are good policy reasons why it's not."</p><p>But Hollie Manheimer of the Georgia First Amendment Foundation said that even if the school board finds itself in a competitive situation, the law still requires the decision be made public before the purchase.</p><p>"Economics is no excuse for closing a meeting," Manheimer said.</p><p>___</p><p>HASH(0x1cd9d04)</p>