Ledyard — By an overwhelming margin, residents voted to sell Ledyard Center School to developer Sal Monarca for $500,000 at a town meeting Wednesday night. The final vote was 206 in favor of the sale and 31 against.

The vote came a week after a public hearing held on the sale. Opinion was mixed, with many residents speaking in support of the sale, including both the Democratic and Republican town committees. Others expressed concern over the impact of the sale and the proposed property development on the town, including the Ledyard Fair and other town events on the property and the adjacent property, which will be retained by the town.

After a procedural discussion and a motion to approve the sale, Mayor Fred Allyn III gave a condensed version of the presentation he gave at last week's public hearing on the sale. He noted that this sale would have a more visible impact on the town and its residents than previous building sales, including the old police building, and thanked residents for turning out to vote on the issue.

The sale brings the town closer to the end of its redistricting process, which planned for Ledyard Center School's closure at the end of the 2018-19 school year.

After a vote by the Board of Education earlier this year, students who would have attended Ledyard Center in the fall now will be reassigned to the other three elementary schools, including a newly expanded Gallup Hill School. All upcoming sixth-graders in town will now attend Ledyard Middle School, also newly expanded, in the fall. Staff and faculty also have been reallocated for the 2019-20 school year.

a.hutchinson@theday.com