Photos by Matt Gentry | The Roanoke Times

First-grade teacher Liz Scott begins putting her room together in a mobile unit at Price's Fork Elementary School on Tuesday. Scott also grew up in Prices Fork and attended the school as a child. "I'm excited to have time to reacquaint myself with the old school building before proceeding into a new building." she says, referring to Montgomery County's plans to build a new elementary school.

Walt Shannon, interim superintendent for Montgomery County schools, said if final approval for the land deal with Virginia Tech is reached this month, then the school system could put out bids for the new Price's Fork Elementary School in September. The proposed new school would house 600 students and also could accommodate redistricting to relieve other overcrowded elementary schools in Blacksburg.

CHRISTIANSBURG -- Montgomery County supervisors approved a land-exchange deal Monday that moves along plans to build a new Price's Fork Elementary School.

County officials approved purchasing 16 acres from the Virginia Tech Foundation and will exchange the land for 20 acres of Virginia Tech property on Prices Fork Road.

The land transfer with Tech will also require approval from Gov. Tim Kaine.

The county is paying $1 million for the 16 acres, which is located in west Blacksburg near Plantation Road and is a portion of Heth farmland.

The 20 acres in the land deal is on the south side of Prices Fork Road just east of the current Price's Fork Elementary School.

The county's supervisors said in Monday's meeting that they were glad to see the project progressing.

County Attorney Marty McMahon said the process has taken some time, including figuring out the 20 acres that can be used for the school site and what Tech was willing to sell. The land is currently used for Tech's agriculture college.

The process has also involved mapping the properties and working out development easements, McMahon said.

"There's been a lot of due diligences to get everything to the point of closing, and we're just about there," McMahon said.

Tech spokesman Larry Hincker expects the process of getting the governor's approval to happen soon but didn't have an exact time frame Tuesday.

Hincker said the that university has done the background work and that "we wouldn't be doing it unless we felt like we had a sense of the governor's office."

Hincker said discussions between Tech and county officials about the land deal began in earnest during summer and fall 2007.

Walt Shannon, interim superintendent for Montgomery County schools, said if final approval for the deal is reached this month, then the school system could put out bids in September.

The new 600-student capacity school would house about 200 when it opens, and it could accommodate redistricting to relieve other overcrowded elementary schools in Blacksburg.

The county supervisors' approval of the land deal now opens the way for the Montgomery County School Board to proceed with handing over the old Blacksburg Middle School.

The 20 acres of school land on South Main Street has been a point of contention between the two boards for nearly a decade.

In May, school board members said they would wait until the land deal was closed before revisiting its resolution, which states that once land for Price's Fork Elementary School is found, then the board would surplus the land.

Staff writer Anna L. Mallory contributed to this story.