Chairman Tommy Thompson said the Board of Commissioners does "have some interest" in the 9.45-acre property that includes three school buildings totaling 28,000 square feet, a large gymnasium suitable for adult basketball games and an athletic field big enough to accommodate adult or youth soccer competitions.

"If it should become a reality, it would fill a great need for the county," Thompson said, emphasizing that all five commissioners would have to agree on pursuing the school property. "You could have soccer fields, you could have adult basketball, you've got classrooms that could be used for recreational or community uses."

However, Thompson said commissioners' first duty is to be "good stewards of our tax dollars. If we purchase it, we have to make sure not only do we purchase it at value but also that we don't get into too much indebtedness and still can provide for all the necessities that the county must provide."

The Christian school's board put the property on the market last spring for roughly $1.4 million after the school went out of business. The price has since dropped to $1.2 million, according to the Multiple Listing Service.

The county currently has only $200,000 in undesignated funds that could be used to purchase new recreational land, but there are other options.