The Wilkes County Board of Education has received one bid for the old school complex on Gordon Street. In a called meeting Monday afternoon, the Wilkes County Board of Education opened the sole bid on the sale or lease of the former high school and middle school property on Gordon Street.

In Monday's meeting, the board opened the bid submitted by Geoff Burkart, CEO of The Guardian Center. In his letter of intent, Burkart said his company desired a shortterm lease of the old school complex in order to use it for the training of homeland security personnel, and offered a $10,000 deposit to negotiate a purchase agreement.

The new industry would bring jobs and a considerable economic impact to the area, Burkart had said in April, and his company would also purchase 1,100 acres in the county for an expanded training center.

Board Chairman Ricky Callaway said that the board would give the letter of intent to Wilkes County Superintendent Dr. Rosemary Caddell for evaluation. The board will act on her recommendation during the next regular board meeting Monday, September 21.

Some details of the possible transaction are yet to be ironed out. In a board meeting early in August, Callaway, Vice Chairman Andrew Jackson, and members Kay Finnell, Bob Guin, and Steve Albertson resolved that the property be offered for sale with conditions that reserved occasional use of the field house, practice fields, and gym until June 1, 2010, and use of the tennis courts until June 1, 2012. As facilities at the new school complex come online, however, the need for the old athletic areas is expected to be alleviated to some degree.