ANN ARBOR, MI - Ann Arbor Public Schools is purchasing property adjacent to Clague Middle School where a private child care center was expected to open.

The Ann Arbor School Board voted 5-1 on Dec. 19 to purchase the property for $850,000.

The money will come from the district’s sinking fund, which by law must be spent on building and facility upgrades such as purchasing property. The sinking fund is supported by a special property tax passed by district voters in May 2017.

At that time, AAPS said it needed the additional revenue to repair and replace building infrastructure, complete projects initially proposed for 2015 bond revenue and add more classroom space to accommodate growing enrollment.

Purchasing this property was in response to concerns that a Rainbow Child Care Center, set to open at 2600 Nixon Road, would add too much traffic to the area and create an unsafe environment for students coming and going from Clague Middle School, according to the resolution passed by the board.

The map shows where Clague Middle School is in proximity to the former Lutheran Church where a child care center was expected to open. A new development called North Oaks condos, formerly known as Nixon Farms, is north of Logan Elementary School.

AAPS does not have solid plans for how it will use the property. Trustees discussed selling it in the future to make a profit or using it to meet the district’s needs for more meeting space or to accommodate a growing student body.

Trustee Jeff Gaynor opposed the purchase, and Trustee Simone Lightfoot was absent from the meeting. Gaynor said it was a risk to purchase the property with no plan for how the school district would use it.

“I don’t know that it’s the responsibility of the school district to solve a traffic problem by buying a property,” he said.

Rainbow Child Care Center, which operates more than 120 centers in 12 states, bought the property in 2016 for $575,000, according to city records. RCCC could not be reached for comment.

The company planned to demolish the existing building and build a 10,782-square-foot center with 38 parking spaces, according to site plans approved by the Ann Arbor City Council in February 2018. The center hoped to enroll about 110 children, according to AAPS.

The property - located across Clague Street from Clague Middle School - previously housed Divine Shepherd Lutheran Church, although the church has not been recently in use.

Some Clague parents raised concerns in December 2017 about traffic congestion and safety issues related to the proposed child care center, after the city’s planning commission had approved a special use permit for Rainbow Child Care Center to operate a daycare in a residential area.

Fourteen nearby residents signed a petition asking the city council to oppose the child care center plans, and 17 Nadia Court residents signed a petition asking the city to make adjustments to the child care center’s plans, including enrolling fewer children.

School staff began to explore options to address parents’ safety concerns when they first learned about the proposed child care center, AAPS Superintendent Jeanice Swift said.

“Clague is a hot spot in terms of the congestion and the flow (of traffic), both morning and afternoon and during any special events that occur there,” Swift said at a January 2018 board meeting.

Having control of the property will give AAPS time to work with city officials to develop traffic-calming strategies for the area, said Board President Christine Stead, whose term expired at the end of 2018.

The purchase ultimately would help the school district financially, Stead said.

The property could be used to build more classroom space, she said, which would attract more students and the state funding that comes with them, or AAPS could sell the lot at a profit, she said.

Vice President Susan Baskett was optimistic AAPS would be able to sell the property for more than $850,000.

“If we have the opportunity to purchase it, even if it’s over $250,000 over when Rainbow bought it, so be it. Tomorrow it will be worth even more,” Baskett said. “We have the money, and it just seems to make good sense.”

Trustee Jessica Kelly acknowledged the need for more child care in Ann Arbor, but said the site near Clague Middle School was not a good location for a daycare.

Margaret Baker, in her fifth term as president of Clague Middle Schools’ Parent-Teacher-Student Organization, is thrilled with the school district’s decision to purchase the property, she said. Baker helped coordinate parents’ efforts to raise concerns about traffic in the area related to the proposed child care center.

“I think it’s money well spent,” she said. “We know that that area is a huge growth area. … Whatever they decide to do with it, I’m happy that it’s going to be Ann Arbor Public (Schools).”