A subsidiary of Nishnabotna Valley REC of Harlan donated a 10,000 square-foot building to the Avoca-based school district last August. AHST – which also serves Walnut secondary students through whole-grade sharing and is proposing a district reorganization this fall to become AHSTW – uses part of the building for an alternative high school. The district said it wanted to use the remaining space for economic development or to create a regional hub for education efforts.

The agency’s Board of Directors approved the lease for the new center during a meeting Monday evening in Red Oak. The current lease expires at the end of June. Moving to Avoca from Harlan will add a little expense – $24,000 annually versus $19,800 annually in rent – but will nearly double the AEA’s footprint to 7,000 square feet.

The AEA will also need to make about $40,000 in renovations to the facility, with AHST covering about $10,000. The Avoca lease will be for seven years. Sharing the space with the alternative high school will also offer enough space to host events, which was not possible with the 4,000-square-foot space in Harlan.

The AEA also operates regional centers in Atlantic, Creston, Glenwood, Osceola and Red Oak, as well as its Peterson Regional Center in Council Bluffs and its main facility, the Halverson Center, between Council Bluffs and Treynor.