A trio of historic school properties at the edges of Cullman County will soon belong to their communities, thanks to the state legislature’s approval of a property swap that assures the former school buildings will find a second life.

The Cullman County School Board will soon turn over ownership of long-empty school houses at Garden City, Joppa, and Battleground to the town (in Garden City’s case), and to newly-created historical boards at Joppa and Battleground. The legislature approved the three bills proposing the transfer for each property last week, meaning the measures only require Gov. Kay Ivey’s signature to become law.

Under the legislation, all three former schools will operate as centers “for the benefit and use of the public,” according to language in each of the bills.

Each school lies in a separate legislative district within the county, so getting the bills passed took the sponsorship of each House representative in the local legislative delegation. Rep. Corey Harbison (R-Good Hope) sponsored the Garden City bill; Rep. Randall Shedd (R-Fairview) sponsored the Joppa bill, and Rep. Scott Stadthagen (R-Hartselle) sponsored the Battleground bill.

The delegation, including Sen. Garlan Gudger (R-Cullman), worked together to support each bill as the legislature wound down its regular session. “It took everyone working together and staying in communication with both the school superintendent and the members of each community to make it happen,” said Harbison on Monday. “All of us, including Sen. Gudger, were involved in working on this from the beginning.”

The school board approached the legislature with the request to allow the no-cost transfer of each property, said Harbison.

“The county school system has these buildings that they no longer utilize, and it’s really hard for them to justify budgeting funds toward maintaining buildings they aren’t using,” he said, “especially when there are so many school buildings that are actively being used that also need money spent for their maintenance.”

The schools at Joppa and Battleground will become the property of newly-created historical boards consisting of five members, each of whom will be appointed by the legislature. The boards will have the power to fundraise for upkeep expenses, as well as to receive government funding. At Garden City, the town itself will become the new titleholder for the school, though in other respects its maintenance agreement is structured much like the other two schools.

Harbison said the local delegation won’t begin to appoint board members until after the governor signs the three bills into law. He also noted that legislators are open to taking similar steps in the future, should the county school board decide to donate other school properties in communities where they’re no longer being used.

“The people in these communities want to see these buildings maintained, and rightfully so, because the schools are a significant part of their history and the center of their communities,” said Harbison. “With these bills, we believe we’ve found a way to make sure these buildings can be preserved and be useful to people for many years to come.”