CLEMSON — In 2003, Clemson agreed to pay the Pickens County school district $100,000 as part of an agreement to purchase the Morrison Annex and in the process, end years of often contentious negotiations.

Five years later, Clemson wants its money back — at least $99,999 of it.

“I really believe the school district owes the city $99,999,” said Mayor Larry Abernathy during a called city council work session held Monday night. “I think we need to send them a bill because they just gave Pickens $1 for the senior center.”

The school district recently agreed to sell the old Hagood Elementary School to Pickens County Seniors Unlimited for $1, something Abernathy said Clemson was not afforded the opportunity to do five years ago for the Morrison Annex, which has since been renamed the Calhoun Bridge Center. Abernathy said he could think of other examples in Liberty, Easley, Six Mile and Dacusville.

“We don’t see why Clemson should be treated any differently than anyone else in the county,” Abernathy said. “We’ve seen what the city of Seneca did with Gignilliat (which the Oconee County school district sold to Seneca for $1, and the city, in turn, renovated the gymnasium and dining facility).”

The Morrison Annex once served as an African-American school during segregation and later housed kindergarten- through second-grade at Morrison Elementary School. But when the new Clemson Elementary School opened in 2001, city officials approached school board members with the desire to obtain the building — only to be rebuffed in their efforts.

In Nov. 2002, the school board voted to seek the sale of the property for $400,000 to a developer, and city council then voted to downsize the property. One month later, bids were accepted for the Annex, with Clemson submitting the only offer (in the amount of $10,000).

The school board threatened legal action before negotiating an agreement through assistance from the Morrison Annex negotiating team consisting of three city council members and three school board members.

Ultimately, an agreement was reached between the two parties. The agreement, in the form of a land swap, called for the school district to transfer the Annex site to Clemson in exchange for taking Village Walk out of the tax increment finance (TIF) district.

The agreement hit a temporary snag when members of the school board expressed a desire to share in revenues from the Annex for a period of years. However, following further negotiations, both sides agreed that Clemson would pay the school district $100,000 for the vacant school property in addition to the swap.

Clemson formally purchased the Annex in Aug. 2003 and later began extensive renovations. Once interior improvements were completed, the city approved Clemson Child Development Center, The Arts Center and the African-American Museum as the three tenants.

City Council later approved the renaming of the Morrison Annex to the Calhoun Bridge Center.

Council member J.C. Cook said he also feels the city should be reimbursed, adding, “They (school district) set a precedent, giving them (school facilities) to all those towns and not us.”

City Administrator Rick Cotton said Abernathy raises a legitimate concern. “They told us there were no free lunches, and now they’re giving away schools.”

Council member Nancy Bennett said the administration has changed within the school district, with Lee D’Andrea now serving as superintendent, as well as several new board members. Abernathy then instructed Cotton to determine all the facts regarding the school facilities sales, and Cotton said he planned to contact school officials to further discuss the matter.

Herbert Cooper, who was on the school board when the city council and school district engaged in a financial tug-of-war over the Annex, also agreed Abernathy had a valid point.

“I think he’s exactly right, and the way the Clemson people have been treated is entirely different than the way people have been treated in Pickens, Easley and Liberty,” Cooper said.

But D’Andrea and Skelton were anything but enthusiastic about the idea.

D’Andrea said properties disposed of by the school district are evaluated on their present assessed value and potential for return on taxpayer dollars. The superintendent cited a recent case where the school district sold a home located on the site of the new Pickens High School.

“I think it’s a question the board will weigh on a case-by-case basis,” she said.

Just as D’Andrea was not the superintendent when the agreement between the school district and Clemson took place, Skelton did not serve on the board during that time. But Skelton added that the Annex possessed “a lot of economic value” and that the management of the school district “couldn’t just give it to the city.”

“These actions were taken by past boards and, as I see it, there’s really no recourse,” Skelton said.

Abernathy said he remained hopeful some type of solution can be reached. The mayor even knows where he would like to see the money go toward. “We could put it into our ‘Save the Astro’ fund.”