BETHEL — If voters approve the move Monday, SAD 44 will own 36.9 acres abutting the north side of the Telstar high school/middle school property on Route 26.

Last month, directors authorized Supt. David Murphy to sign a purchase and sale agreement on the parcel owned by Conifer Corp. for $76,000.

The authorization is subject to approval by voters at a district meeting at 6:30 p.m. Monday, Feb. 22, at the Crescent Park Elementary School. Authorization is also contingent on a satisfactory title search, Murphy said.

The money would be taken from the capital reserve account, he said.

It is estimated that about a third of the district’s cross-country trails are on the 36.9-acre parcel.

Murphy said the purchase is intended solely to enable the district to continue to use the property for athletic trails. It had not been researched for potential development uses, she said.

He was advised by the district’s attorney that the school board should consider the value of the property only as it relates to current and future use as part of the Telstar campus, he said. Because of potential easement issues, any other use would be subject to town ordinances and would require the completion of additional legal work, he said.

District policy on outdoor grounds and facilities provides for their use by the public when they are not scheduled for use by the schools, Murphy said.

The property is subject to an easement and right of way used by Chadbourne Tree Farms to access its large parcel. The easement allows both the property owner and the grantee to perform maintenance on the right of way.

Murphy said there is an additional acre Conifer Corp. is offering for sale to residents of the Bailey Road whose property abuts it. Should those abutters decline the offer, he said, Conifer Corp. is considering gifting it to the school district.