Buckeye Valley officials plan to build a new elementary school building on State Route 257 in the Bellpoint area if voters approve a $31.3 million bond issue in November.

The district’s board of education on Monday approved the purchase of 31 acres of land in Concord Township for about $465,000.

The site is just west of SR 257, south of Fry Road and north of Mills Road.

Tom Kaelber, board president, said it was the preferred location of six that were under consideration.

The site, he said, is not as heavily trafficked as some U.S. 42 locations, is close to several major thoroughfares and is about halfway between Ostrander and the populations centers of Concord Township.

Superintendent Andy Miller said the location has the potential to reduce busing times in the district without adding to the cost.

“This site will help with what has traditionally been an issue in Buckeye Valley,” he said.

Miller said the site was the top choice of not only school officials, but also of the resident advisory team formed to help craft the bond issue.

“This is kind of a compromise site,” he said. “We can’t put an elementary school in every individual community.”

The purchase, which still needs to be approved by the property owner, is contingent upon passage of the bond issue.

“We just could not spend any money and purchase a property not knowing if we were going to have funding for that,” said Kaelber.

According to Delaware County Auditor George Kaitsa, the bond issue, if approved, would cost an additional $108.50 in property taxes annually on a property valued at $100,000.

Under the plan, fifth-grade students, who currently attend the middle school, would once again be back in an elementary setting, as they were before the closure of North Elementary in 2012.