A private Christian academy in White Bear Lake appears to be buying the former Withrow Elementary School in Hugo.
The Stillwater school board last week approved a purchase agreement for the school.
Terms call for the building to be sold to 10158, LLC, for $1.4 million. The newly formed corporation’s registered agent, Rebekah Hagstrom, is headmaster of Liberty Classical Academy in White Bear Lake.
Hagstrom declined to comment on the possible sale. The school district and board chairwoman Bev Petrie also declined to comment.
The sale is not expected to be finalized for 60 days.
Liberty is a private, coed, classical school serving around 250 students in preschool through 12th grade. According to the school’s website and Facebook page, the academy was founded in 2003 and “balances challenging academics and a Christian worldview.” Tuition ranges from $8,220 for kindergarten to $12,970 for high school.
The Withrow building has sat empty since the Stillwater district shuttered it in 2017 as part of a controversial consolidation.
Hugo City Administrator Bryan Bear said city officials would be happy to have the building become a school again. A developer in 2019 proposed turning the school into veterans housing, but the school is not zoned for housing and does not have city water or sewer.
“This would be a good resolution for that site,” Bear said. “It has been a school, the community’s expectation is that it be a school, and it would be great if it were to continue to be a school. The devil is in the details. We would need to see what their plans might be, but they would certainly be allowed to open a school in that location.”
Withrow was one of three elementary schools that the Stillwater school board voted in March 2016 to close. After the closures of Withrow, Oak Park and Marine elementary schools, parents protested, lawsuits were filed, and board incumbents were challenged in elections.
The Oak Park building now is being used for administrative purposes.
The city of Marine on St. Croix bought the former Marine Elementary building for $950,000 and is leasing it to the Marine Village School, a K-5 charter school that in September was approved by the Minnesota Department of Education. It is expected to open next fall with up to 150 students, said Win Miller, board chairman.
“The community feels it is important to have a school in Marine, as we have had one for over 160 years,” Miller said. “The school provides a resource for the community, and the community is a resource for the school.”