BRANDON - The FBI is examining the Rankin County School District's purchase of an 81-acre tract of land that's being prepared for a $23 million high school, The Associated Press has learned.
An AP inquiry reveals that a number of questions have arisen about the project, including the cost, source and amount of dirt being used to fill the site. The land was purchased for about $2.4 million.
While specific issues in the investigation have not been made public, the school district is paying about $14 per cubic yard for the fill dirt, apparently much higher than the going rate in the county. And, at least some of the fill dirt may be coming from property owned by the school board attorney.
William Jenkins, the assistant special agent in charge of the investigation, confirmed that the FBI is "a participant in that investigation."
Citing FBI policy, however, Jenkins said he could not comment and directed questions to Rankin County District Attorney David Clark.
Clark acknowledged that authorities are looking into the land purchase and costs associated with constructing the school that is scheduled for completion in August 2005.
Clark said he did not initiate the investigation and was being kept up to speed because any resulting prosecution would be handled by his office. He declined to comment on who might be targets of the investigation.
District Superintendent Lynn Weathersby said Tuesday he was aware of the probe but did not "have any idea in the world" why federal agents were interested in the deal.
Weathersby said the agents had requested information about the property. He said the questions involved general information rather than specific details.
The new school, located along Mississippi 18 in south Brandon, is expected to have a student body of at least 1,200 when it replaces the old high school building in downtown Brandon.
The contract for dirt work at the new site was awarded to Vicksburg-based Lampkin Construction.
Hugh Carr, assistant superintendent of support services for the district, said school officials anticipate spending $2 million on 140,000 cubic yards of dirt. At that rate, the district will pay more than $14 per cubic yard.
Jeff Parrett, owner of Parrett Enterprises, the company that was subcontracted to supply the dirt to Lampkin, questioned the price being paid by the school system.
"It's about as ridiculous as building a school in a hole," said Parrett, who is charging Lampkin Construction $3.50 per cubic yard.
Parrett also said some of the dirt has come from Rankin County School Board attorney Fred Harrell's land.
In a phone interview Tuesday, Harrell said he could not say for certain if any dirt from his property had been hauled to the school site.
Harrell said he has an operator who oversees the excavation of dirt on his property and "where he hauls it is his prerogative." The operator just sends a check, he said.
Harrell said the contract was awarded to Lampkin Construction because Lampkin made the lower bid of two companies.
Messages left Tuesday and Wednesday at the Vicksburg offices of Lampkin Construction went unanswered.
The other bidder, Brandon-based Southern Rock, bid more than $3.8 million for the dirt contract.
Edmond Turnage, the brother of the school property's former owner, Ben Turnage, is listed a registered agent for Southern Rock.
Ben Turnage, through his corporation Southern Farms LP, sold the property to the school district for $29,500 per acre.
Carr, who oversees construction for the school district said that the two appraisals - $2.4 million and $2.45 million - the school solicited were comparable to $2.4 million the school paid.
But both appraisers - Jim Craig of James E. Craig MAI and John Praytor of Praytor Appraisal Services - said their appraisals estimated the value of the property once was subject to it being filled with dirt and raised out of flood-plane status.
Craig, who gave the $2.4 million appraisal, said that amount was contingent on all of the property being raised above the 100-year flood plane and the actual buildings sites being raised above the 500-year flood plane.
"The appraisal plainly states (it is valued a $2.4 million) after it is brought to that elevation," he said.
Praytor said his estimate of $2.45 million, or $30,000 per acre, also was subject to the property being raised out of the flood plane.
Harrell said the seller, Ben Turnage, did raise the property above the flood plane and that the additional $2 million the school district is spending on dirt work would have been necessary to build the foundation of the school on any site.
Harrell said that because Turnage spent $600,000 preparing the land, any "fair-minded person" would deduct that amount from the price of the school.
Britton King, the owner of King Construction in Crystal Springs, said the amount of money the district is spending on dirt work has become a common topic of discussion in the construction field.
King said based on his own work with construction-grade dirt, he knows that the going rate in Rankin County is about $5 per cubic yard, not $14 per cubic yard.
When informed that other contractors had questioned the price of the dirt, Carr said the $2 million he had previously said was for 140,000 cubic yards of dirt was for moving and leveling the dirt as well.
Lampkin's bid was $2,310,000, according to the school district's construction contract.
Harrell said Wednesday that the purchase and subsequent school-construction project were good decisions that the state Department of Education signed off on.
The purchase was approved by the five-member county school board with an unanimous vote in February 2003 after members discussed it in executive session.
School Board President Debbie Hankins, who made the motion to close the meeting, said Tuesday that she could not remember exactly why she did so. But, she said, the board usually deals with money matters behind closed doors.
Although Hankins said she kept notes, she said minutes were not taken during the executive session.
Hankins said FBI agents subpoenaed "records of the sale" but, from the school board's perspective, there is nothing to worry about.
"I'm pleased with the purchase … we're just as interested to (see what the investigation) is about as anyone else," she said.
The total cost of construction on the new school is expected to exceed $23.5 million and will be funded by a $69.3 million bond issue.
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