Henry school board approves contentious land deal

Henry County school board members voted Monday night in favor of a proposal to spend about $5.3 million to purchase about 90 acres to build two schools from the family of an attorney who does work for the school district.

The proposal was criticized by some, such as state Sen. Emanuel Jones, as a conflict-of-interest. The attorney, A.J. "Buddy" Welch Jr., said he gave ownership of the land to relatives to avoid such concerns when he realized the school district was seriously considering purchasing the property.

The school district wants to build a high school and middle school in McDonough to deal with the population growth in that area.