Top 10 Stories of 2012: No. 8: Old ECC building sells for $75K; Christian Academy finds permanent home

One school’s property on South Main Street became a private Christian academy’s new home in the summer of 2012 with the sale of the former Early Childhood Center.  
The Anderson County Board of Education approved the purchase of the former Early Childhood Center (also the old Anderson County High School) by the Christian Academy of Lawrenceburg during a special-called meeting in late June.
The old ECC property, which includes a 45,500-square foot building and 7.5 acres, was appraised for about $160,000, according to Anderson News reports. The property sold for $75,100, a little less than half its appraised value.
Steve Carmichael, the academy’s head administrator, said he was thrilled with the purchase during the June 28 special-called meeting.
“We’ve been praying for three years for land, a building and a sports complex,” said Carmichael. “It’s amazing how the Lord put the pieces together to make that happen.”
The Christian Academy of Lawrenceburg, a private Christian school with about 130 students from preschool to 12th grade, held a dedication program in November to commemorate its move to a central location on Main Street.
Constructed with a $6.2 million, 18-year Qualified School Construction bond, the newly finished Ezra B. Sparrow Early Childhood Center offers daycare, preschool and kindergarten classes previously conducted at the old ECC.
The new center, which broke ground for construction in 2011, opened its doors in time for beginning of the 2012-2013 school year.
The Anderson County Regional Training Center, which has been operating from the old ECC building since 1996, will pay the Christian Academy a yearly rental fee of $12,000 to remain at its current location.
The Board of Education, which does not fund the RTC but is its fiscal agent, voted to approve the rental fee and consider a potential move at the beginning of the next fiscal year, July 2013.