Stonington - The Board of Education voted unanimously Thursday night to oppose the controversial land swap proposed for Mystic Middle School.

The board's motion stated it opposes the swap because it does not serve an educational purpose and the board has not deemed whether the land will be needed for educational purposes in the future.

Voters at a town meeting last month narrowly approved the swap. It calls for Joseph and Mary Putnam to give the town one acre of land they own behind the school in exchange for one acre the town owns to the west. The Putnams would use the land they would receive to build a new access road to their home so they would no longer have to use the school driveway. In addition, the road could provide access to a larger piece of land they own that Joseph Putnam said could be used to build up to 12 homes.

Meanwhile, a Florida company had said it would like to build a 40-unit affordable housing project for seniors on the acre the town would receive combined with an adjacent 1.6-acre parcel already owned by the town.

Opponents of the swap collected enough signatures to force a referendum vote on the issue on Aug. 19.

The school board had not taken a position on the swap before the town meeting vote because it said its questions were not answered. But Chairwoman Gail MacDonald urged her colleagues to take a stance saying the board has a responsibility for schools and never agreed to turn the property over to the town to do what it wanted.

She pointed out that state law specifies that school boards are responsible for the care, maintenance and operation of all school buildings and land.

While MacDonald said the board would have to discuss what to do if voters approve the land swap and the housing project moves forward, board member Rob Cary said the board would have to give up its control over the new acre and the 1.6-acre piece for the project to move forward.

First Selectman Ed Haberek told the board that it was always his understanding that the town owned the school property and the board ran the schools. He said the elderly housing project would help alleviate a shortage of affordable housing for the elderly, produce $40,000 in badly needed tax revenue at a time when the town is looking at a $1 million budget increase next year and would provide intergenerational opportunities for seniors and students. Joseph Putnam also told the board that gravel located on the land the town would receive has an estimated value of $150,000.

MacDonald also criticized Haberek for not including the board in discussion about the elderly housing project.

K-12 School Building Committee Chairman Paul Sartor called the swap "a really good thing," because the land the town would get would give it flexibility and could be used for parking, an addition, new athletic fields. And it would remove access to the Putnam property and another home from school property.

But Cary pointed out the school does not need land for parking as there has been a plan for years for new parking in front of the school but it has not been funded.

j.wojtas@theday.com