AVON — Mary Jane Wolfe collapsed in tears against a friend’s shoulder Tuesday night when she learned she would not have to give up her family’s land.

After an hour behind closed doors, the Avon school board relented and said it would not use the courts to force Wolfe to sell 25 acres of her Center Road farmstead.

“When you’re faced with something like this, it’s so good to have friends,” she said, moving from one hug to another across the Heritage North Elementary media center where the meeting was held. “It will be good just to be able to sleep soundly tonight.”

A month ago, the Avon Board of Education announced it wanted her land — with or without her cooperation.

The plan was to build a new middle school there to address an expected surge in students as houses continue to be built in the fast-growing town. Wolfe’s property, school board members insisted, was the best place to do so.

But on Tuesday, the school board was closeted in executive session until about 8:30 p.m., when board president Dale Smitek emerged and announced that the board was reversing course and would abandon its plan to use eminent domain to force her to sell.

Smitek said the change was because of amicable talks with Wolfe and her attorney. But Wolfe said she doesn’t want to sell, and she doesn’t think the school board will continue to pursue her property.

The board’s actions led to the creation of a grassroots group that protested by erecting signs around the town and gathering more than 500 signatures on a petition. In addition, donations totaling more than $4,000 were collected from supporters in Pennsylvania, Michigan and California.

“For now it’s a feeling of overwhelming relief,” said Tim Bresnahan, spokesman for the Avon Citizens for Change.

Kim Vargo, who is the organization’s treasurer, said volunteers put up more than 250 signs and couldn’t keep up with the demand for them. School board members Kevin Romanchok and Susan Harrison also had asked for signs in front of their homes, Vargo said.

“The popular opinion in Avon supports Mary Jane,” said one supporter, Lee Cory. “Everybody here can imagine how it would feel if the school board wanted to take their property.”

Wolfe said she hopes her land — which has been in her family since 1955 — is permanently safe from seizure, but there are no guarantees. She wants to one day hand it down to her descendants, she said.

“It’s the memories, the peace of mind. It’s the quiet there,” she said. “That place is so important to me, especially after everything that’s happened.”

Vargo said the Avon Citizens for Change will continue to stand guard in case Wolfe has to be defended again. The group also wants to help the school board build a new school, she said.

“Everybody knows we need a new middle school. We weren’t protesting that here,” she said. “Our problem was this specific move to take Mary Jane’s property. We didn’t understand why the school had to be built there.”

Contact Jason Hawk at 329-7148 or jhawk@chroniclet.com.

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