The Christina Board of Education decided to delay the $1.6 million sale of the school district’s former headquarters at 83 E. Main Street in Newark to the University of Delaware for a month after a controversy erupted at its May 6 meeting.

The Christina School District learned this Spring that the district may not get all of the matching state funds for the capital construction project voters approved in November to help the district implement its neighborhood schools plan.

State budget officials recently announced they are facing a multi-million dollar revenue deficit for the 2009 fiscal year.

Last month, Christina Chief Financial Officer Patrick O’Rourke told the board the state treasurer’s office has not sold the 20-year bonds that will raise $2.6 million in local money needed for Porter Road, as authorized by the referendum. Until that happens, the state Legislature will not allocate the $3.9 million allowed under the standard state formula for construction for Porter Road in the annual bond bill.

The district must pursue the sale of bonds and offer an alternative plan acceptable to the state to raise the matching state funds, he said.

Christina wants to sell 83 E. Main as one of its “capital assets” to help complete work on Porter Road, which has already begun. Because of a deed restriction from 1884 that limits one of three parcels that comprise the Main Street property for use as an educational facility, the district found what it thinks is a good suitor in the University of Delaware, said Christina Director of Facilities Kelli Racca, at the board’s meeting at Newark High School.

Christina and the University of Delaware both had the property appraised and agreed to the listed selling price, Racca said.

Newark United Methodist Church Rev. David Palmer said his church is interested in the property, but it only recently learned through “indirect sources” of the district’s negotiations with the university. Rev. Palmer, the senior pastor, indicated the board would face “civil litigation” if it did not delay its vote.

The church sent a letter dated March, 1 2007 to Racca, Superintendent Lillian M. Lowery and board members to express its interest in buying or leasing the property, Rev. Palmer said.

The church’s use of the property would fall within its educational requirements and benefit the entire community, Rev. Palmer said.

“We are very serious about developing a proposal to develop this property,” he said. “We have the resources to make a realistic offer.”

Newark resident Jack Worton expressed disappointment that the district had already negotiated a sale with the University of Delaware.

“As for the church, this sounds like shoddy treatment of a longstanding institution,” Worton said. “I’m not taking sides here. I ask for an open process that gets the best deal for the district.”

The board voted unanimously to postpone a vote to approve the sale until its June 10 meeting at Leasure Elementary School near the Route 40 corridor.

After the board’s vote, Rev. Palmer said his church has a month to get a proposal together. He had wanted two months.

“It’ll push us but we had talked about that as a possibility.”