Post by d204mom on Apr 24, 2008 8:04:28 GMT -6
Land sale reflects legal thicket over high school site
April 24, 2008
THE ISSUE: School District 204 is moving to sell the original 25 acres it purchased of the Brach-Brodie land.
OUR VIEW: It's probably going to need the money to pay for attorneys and damages.
The district's decision, though, to refuse to pay the $31 million that the jury in the second condemnation decreed the 55 acres was worth and then going ahead and purchasing a different site made the original 25 acres superfluous.
Despite the lawsuits that have been filed against Indian Prairie School District 204 over the site for its third high school, it is charging full speed ahead with getting that school built.
The district's latest move is to get into a position to sell off the 25 acres of the Brach-Brodie parcel it had already condemned and purchased.
Had the district gone through with its purchase of the additional 55 acres of the Brach-Brodie site, it would have incorporated that original 25 acres into the land for Metea Valley High School.
By law, the district must first offer the 25 acres back to Brach-Brodie. Representatives of the Brach trust have said they are not interested in buying it back, while the Brodie trust is reported to be considering the offer.
What the district is doing now is asking a judge to set a deadline by which the original owners of the site must accept or decline the 25 acres.
Given the difficulties in the real estate market these days, it probably surprises us more that the Brodie trust is still pondering the possibility of buying the land back than that the Brach trust turned its back on the parcel.
Complicating the issue is the lawsuit filed by the citizen group Neighborhood Schools For Our Children, attempting to force the district to buy the additional 55 acres of Brach-Brodie and build the new high school there.
Then there is the lawsuit filed by the Brodie trust trying to force the district to purchase the 55 acres for the $31 million, as well as attempts by the Brodie trust to ask for damages due to the district's backing out of buying the land.
Ultimately, we seriously doubt that a judge will force a school district to buy land it doesn't want and place a school there.
Far more uncertain, it seems to us, is how large an amount the district may have to fork over for damages for declining to pay the price decreed for the 55 acres.
The saga of Metea Valley High School reflects a botch-up mess pretty much from the beginning.
We can't fault residents for being upset regardless of which school site they favor and which school their children will attend, even without considering the residents who don't believe the district needs a third high school at all.
Considering all the roadblocks it has had getting to this point, trying to sell the 25 acres as quickly as possible is about the best move the district can make. After all, it may need a lot of that money to pay for attorneys and, perhaps, damages for not buying the additional 55 acres.
April 24, 2008
THE ISSUE: School District 204 is moving to sell the original 25 acres it purchased of the Brach-Brodie land.
OUR VIEW: It's probably going to need the money to pay for attorneys and damages.
The district's decision, though, to refuse to pay the $31 million that the jury in the second condemnation decreed the 55 acres was worth and then going ahead and purchasing a different site made the original 25 acres superfluous.
Despite the lawsuits that have been filed against Indian Prairie School District 204 over the site for its third high school, it is charging full speed ahead with getting that school built.
The district's latest move is to get into a position to sell off the 25 acres of the Brach-Brodie parcel it had already condemned and purchased.
Had the district gone through with its purchase of the additional 55 acres of the Brach-Brodie site, it would have incorporated that original 25 acres into the land for Metea Valley High School.
By law, the district must first offer the 25 acres back to Brach-Brodie. Representatives of the Brach trust have said they are not interested in buying it back, while the Brodie trust is reported to be considering the offer.
What the district is doing now is asking a judge to set a deadline by which the original owners of the site must accept or decline the 25 acres.
Given the difficulties in the real estate market these days, it probably surprises us more that the Brodie trust is still pondering the possibility of buying the land back than that the Brach trust turned its back on the parcel.
Complicating the issue is the lawsuit filed by the citizen group Neighborhood Schools For Our Children, attempting to force the district to buy the additional 55 acres of Brach-Brodie and build the new high school there.
Then there is the lawsuit filed by the Brodie trust trying to force the district to purchase the 55 acres for the $31 million, as well as attempts by the Brodie trust to ask for damages due to the district's backing out of buying the land.
Ultimately, we seriously doubt that a judge will force a school district to buy land it doesn't want and place a school there.
Far more uncertain, it seems to us, is how large an amount the district may have to fork over for damages for declining to pay the price decreed for the 55 acres.
The saga of Metea Valley High School reflects a botch-up mess pretty much from the beginning.
We can't fault residents for being upset regardless of which school site they favor and which school their children will attend, even without considering the residents who don't believe the district needs a third high school at all.
Considering all the roadblocks it has had getting to this point, trying to sell the 25 acres as quickly as possible is about the best move the district can make. After all, it may need a lot of that money to pay for attorneys and, perhaps, damages for not buying the additional 55 acres.
. Why can't my husband be more like the open-wallet spending of most of our SB members?