- August 5, 2026
The Volusia County School Board is getting ready to sell the former Osceola Elementary school site, and Ormond Beach is expressing interest.
The City Commission first discussed looking into purchasing the 11.6-acre property at 100 Osceola Ave. during its workshop on July 28, after the School Board submitted a letter of first right of refusal to the city. Volusia County Schools intends to demolish the existing school buildings and sell the property as a cost-savings measure, as maintaining the site is costing the district about $3.43 million a year.
At the City Commission meeting on Tuesday, Aug. 5, city staff relayed that the district has had two offers on the property so far: One for $2.35 million, and another for $2.5 million. The school district is keeping it on the market to see if a higher offer comes in.
And if the city doesn't purchase it — be it for a park or stormwater mitigation — some preliminary concepts show development plans for about 30-40 houses, city staff reported.
"Right now, we're looking at a vital piece of property that could go to a developer," City Commissioner Kristin Deaton said. "And let's face it, all we hear all day from everybody who comes up here is that they don't want to see more development. This would be more development."
City staff said they first learned that the Osceola site could be surplussed by VCS about a year ago.
Osceola Elementary was eliminated in 2021 when the school district merged it with Ortona Elementary to create Beachside Elementary. The new school was built on the former Ortona campus and opened its doors in January 2023.
The Osceola school site later housed Tomoka Elementary faculty and students as their school was rebuilt. In 2024, VCS relocated its alternative education program, Riverview Learning Center, to the campus. That program is now moving to a vacant middle school building at Holly Hill School (which used to be a K-8 and is now just an elementary school).
The city has had an interlocal agreement with the school board since about 1974 for park facilities at the Osceola site, which currently has baseball and basketball fields, a tennis court, a playground, restrooms and parking.
The School Board obtained an appraisal for the property for about $3.3 million. The city obtained three appraisals for the site, ranging from $1.7 million to $3 million.
Should the city purchase the property, staff estimates it will cost them $30,000 a year as is. Staff also provided funding options for purchasing the property, including using general fund reserves, recreation impact fees or parks and rec millage. (Increasing the millage rate was also proposed as an alternative, but commissioners were not in favor of this option).
While the commission seemed mostly in favor of the city acquiring the property, Ormond Beach Mayor Jason Leslie expressed hesitation, citing possible budget impacts should the state's property tax reform amendment pass in November. He also mentioned that the city would be purchasing the school site without a plan for what it would do with it, likening it to the former church site at 56 N. Beach St.
"I don't know how well that's going to go with the whole community, as a whole, because it is an expensive purchase and we have a lot of surplus land right now that we haven't done anything with," Leslie said. He noted he was not in favor of more development, however.
Deaton said his concern was understandable, but mentioned that is why she leaned toward using recreation impact fees to purchase the site. The city has about $1.5 million in this fund, which is used for new facilities. The city can also look at selling other properties to offset the remainder of the purchase cost, she suggested.
"Of course, I'm always wanting to be fiscally responsible," Deaton said. "However, I haven't heard one resident come to me and say, 'I'd love 35 houses.'"
If property tax reform passes in November, the city can address the budget issues at that time, she said.
The city doesn't have the luxury of waiting to see what happens with property tax reform before expressing interest in buying the Osceola site, Deputy Mayor Lori Tolland said. The School Board had originally asked for a July 22 response, and the city requested a two-week extension.
If the city wishes to purchase the property, VCS also indicated it would not entertain a period longer than six months for due diligence, during which the city could explore uses of the site.
"We are on a time constraint," Tolland said. "It's not enough time for us to come up with a plan, but I tink we all came up with some pretty viable uses for that property that would help our community. Either it's stormwater or recreation, or paid parking for the beach. We do have some assets that we can look at to try to mitigate the cost."
City Commissioner Travis Sargent said he agreed with the uncertainty surrounding property taxes, but that if the city doesn't purchase it, a developer will build homes.
"I think it's too valuable to let it go," he said. "Our residents deserve stuff on beachside for recreation. It's been in our long-term plan. ... To me, it's a lifetime opportunity that we cannot pass up."
The commission directed staff to submit a letter of intent to purchase the property to the School Board, willing to negotiate the purchase price up to $2.5 million.
