The Wright City R-II School Board in April tabled a move to have the property for a future new high school annexed into the municipal boundaries of Wright City.
The property is located between …
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The Wright City R-II School Board in April tabled a move to have the property for a future new high school annexed into the municipal boundaries of Wright City.
The property is located between Highway F and Roelker Road, across from Horseshoe Court. The city and school district are currently considering the annexation, but the R-II school board tabled the action on April 14 over procedural concerns.
Wright City does not have a zoning district that specifically permits a public school. If the annexation is approved by the school board, the city would consider approving the preliminary plan for a new high school and issuing a conditional use permit through the city’s planning and zoning process.
The school board approved tabling the annexation on a 4-3 vote. Board members David Mikus, Heidi Halleman, Michael Bates and Erin Williams voted in favor of tabling action on the proposed annexation. Austin Jones, Alice Jensen and Mary Groeper voted against tabling the vote.
Mikus said he wants to find out more about the permitting and zoning process for both the city and for unincorporated Warren County. The district does not know what its needs will be years in the future, he said. For example, the district might one day decide to split an unused section off the east side of the property along Highway F and sell it, Mikus speculated.
“Everything that I’ve seen per code is the 2025 high school and the additions that are going to come, whenever they come, are going to be more on the Roelker side of the property. … So we’re envisioning 20 years out that that will be needed for the school,” Mikus said. “I think that’s going to be hard to envision because we don’t know where the growth is going to be.”
The district has always worked towards the high school project with the idea that the property would be annexed to the city, said Superintendent Chris Berger. The district does not have any intent to sell off property of significance in the future, he said.
“I can’t envision a master plan that does not optimize that other side of the property, because of the highway frontage, its proximity, all the benefits that we have,” Berger said. “But you’re exactly right. Who knows, in 10 or 15 years, there could be a change. It’s still not clear to me what the disadvantage is to annexing it into the city. But certainly there are some unknowns.”
Mikus requested the board be presented with information regarding the city and county planning and zoning regulations.
