The Unified School District 428 School Board approved Friday afternoon the sale of the Shady Grove School property.
The action came during a special noon meeting at the District Eduction Center called specifically to discuss the action. The vote was 5-0 in favor of the sale.
 The original asking price was $86,000, but that was  cut 15 percent to $73,000 to maintain interest in the property. It was sold to Scott and Dawn Sisson for $60,000, and after paying the sales commission and title insurance, the district will realize $56,222.50.
Located at 150 SW 40th Ave., across from the entrance to the Great Bend Municipal Airport, the structure covers nearly 5,000 square feet with a kitchen and two half  bathrooms. The gym has been divided into offices and meeting rooms.
It was sold “as is.”
Shady Grove ceased being an actual school in 1991, closed because enrollment continued to dwindle. Up until last fall, it housed Barton County Special Services, a county-wide cooperative serving children with special needs.
The cooperative moved to Washington Early Childhood Center in Great Bend, leaving no use for the old, well-kept school.
According to information from USD 428, Shady Grove School was organized on April 2, 1873. It was one of a host of country schools that dotted section corners across the state for over a century.
This was later replaced by a second building. This was moved into town for use as a church and, later on, an apartment building. The current building went up in the summer of 1929 and a gymnasium was added in 1972.
The board first put the school on the market in September 2011. If there had been no deal reached, the board would have discussed at a meeting February selling the building at auction.