Orange County Public Schools to consider $1.5M sale of former Pine Castle Elementary property

Orange County Public Schools could sell the former Pine Castle Elementary School property for $1.5 million, a move that would bring in money as the district faces a multimillion-dollar budget shortfall but would not help pay for daily expenses such as teacher salaries. The Orange County School Board is expected to vote this afternoon on the proposed sale of the 6-acre property on Waltham Avenue, next to Cornerstone Charter Academy.The site has been vacant since Pine Castle Elementary closed several years ago. Board member Stephanie Vanos said the district previously considered other uses for the property, but those plans shifted after school consolidations.“They made the decision not to after consolidations to instead sort of relocate that project, so it was moved to a different building,” Vanos said.[WATCH: Orange County schools finalizes $7.9B budget with $8.5M in additional cuts on the way]The property is now set to be sold to Cornerstone Charter Academy, which Vanos said was the hi