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WINDSOR – Bertie County’s Board of Education voted during their meeting on Nov. 12 to transfer the former Aulander Elementary School property to the county commissioners.

Bertie Schools Superintendent Dr. Otis Smallwood presented the information to the board, noting that they had received a letter from Bertie County Manager Juan Vaughan II confirming the commissioners’ interest in the property.

“I’m recommending the terms of sale to just be the fees to transfer the deed from the Bertie County Board of Education to the Board of Commissioners,” Dr. Smallwood stated.

Board member Christine Dudley motioned to approve the recommendation, and the vote was unanimously in favor among those in attendance. Board member Rickey Freeman was unable to attend the meeting.

As previously reported by the News Herald, Bertie’s school board voted in March to permanently close Aulander Elementary School at the end of the 2023-2024 school year, due to declining enrollment.

The school building, which was constructed in the 1960s, has a capacity for 375 students, but only had 94 students enrolled during its final year. With the closure of the school, students who would have attended this year were sent to other elementary schools throughout the district, with most going to West Bertie Elementary.

According to state statutes, after a school property is closed and declared surplus, the Board of Education must give the county commissioners the first opportunity to obtain the property.

With the school board’s approval on Tuesday, the next step will be to send the offer to the commissioners for their official vote on the matter.