WALTON — Walton-Verona Independent Schools is buying 117 acres off Interstate 71 for a new high school and a second elementary school that won't be built for another five to 10 years.

        The district is grabbing the land now in an attempt to stay ahead of the growth that's looming to the north.

        “In Boone County, you have to think in those terms,” Assistant Superintendent Gene Kirchner said. “As more homes begin to appear, they tend to bring elementary-age kids.”

        The district has nearly 1,000 students, and officials expect enrollment to grow to 1,500 in five years as new subdivisions pop up on the city's north end.

        The district is buying the land from developers Ron and Brenda Tackett of Warsaw for $1.638 million, or $14,000 an acre. The district signed a purchase contract in late May and has 150 days to complete various inspections and get state approval before the sale is final.

        The property is near the I-71 Verona exit off Ky. 14 behind Rice Autobody Center.

        Sixty acres will be used for a new high school and athletic fields within five to seven years. The current high school building will become a middle school, Superintendent Robert Storer said. A second elementary school would be built on the other 57 acres in 10 to 15 years.

        The district is also working with the county to put a park in the area.

        “When you put a state-of-the-art high school out there and everything that goes with it, it's really going to redefine the south end of the county and reshape this community,” Mr. Kirchner said.

        Boone is the fastest-growing county in Northern Kentucky and the second-fastest growing in the state, according to 2000 Census figures. The county's population has grown by nearly 50 percent in the past decade, and Walton's population has grown by more than 20 percent.

        “The price (of land) keeps going up,” Mr. Storer said. “We'd be looking for land again in five years if we didn't buy it now, and it would cost more.”

        Two subdivisions going up on the city's north end — Wildcat Run and Sunset Ridge — are slated to have more than 550 homes. Smaller developments are sprouting around the city.

        Walton-Verona Elementary is already a bit squeezed, and the district plans to add four classrooms to the building this summer.

        “We're not crunched yet, but we're going to be,” Mr. Storer said. “There's a lot of farmland in Verona, and there's a lot of people that have some ideas.”

        The school district has been looking for land for 10 months.

        School officials considered two sites in Walton — Walton Industrial Park off U.S. 25 and property off Mary Grubbs Highway near I-71. However, both sites were more than double the cost per acre of the Verona site, Mr. Storer said.

        “There's no land in Walton that anybody's willing to sell,” he said. “We needed to go where the land is affordable.”

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