November 14, 2017 – On July 1, 2017, Pleasant Valley School officially became surplus property in the Penn Valley Union Elementary School District (PVUESD). The District began the process of selling the surplus property at the direction of the Board of Trustees in Spring 2017 after formally voting to close the school due to declining enrollment and deficit spending. The campus had deferred maintenance needs that the District could not complete without eliminating direct services to students. The savings the District has realized as a result of this closure has allowed for additional staffing, deferred maintenance at the two existing sites, and the creation of an amazing new program for all 6th through 8th grade students district-‐wide.
The process to sell school property deemed as surplus is multi-‐tiered allowing various agencies first rights to negotiate the purchase price with the District. Along with the multi-‐ tiered system, the District also evaluates if certain laws apply to the sale of the property such as the Naylor Act. The Naylor Act allows other public agencies, as defined by Education Code 17489, to acquire surplus school grounds to keep it available for playground, playing field or other outdoor recreational and open-‐space purposes. The Naylor Act applies when the following conditions are met: all or a portion of the property are used for recreational purposes, has been used for this purpose for eight years prior to surplus, and no other available publicly owned land in the vicinity is adequate to meet the needs of the community. With Pleasant Valley School being located directly across the street from Williams Ranch School, which has a playground, playing field, and other outdoor recreational open-‐space, the Naylor Act does not apply to this sale. Therefore, the sale of Pleasant Valley School is available at full fair market value. Based on an appraisal completed November, 2017 the fair market value has been established at $1,100,000.
At this time we are pleased to confirm that PVUESD is in negotiations with Western Gateway Park District for the sale of Pleasant Valley School. This sale is offered at fair market value with funds to go back to the District. If funds or property were to be “gifted” to any agency or private buyer this could be deemed as a “gift of public funds” which is not legal.
The property was originally deeded to the Pleasant Valley School District by Boise Cascade in February, 1970 as required by law when Lake Wildwood was developed. This was not a gift to the District, but a requirement. At that time the land was bare and lacked water, electrical or any other infrastructure. The Pleasant Valley School District made all the improvements required by law in order to house students on a daily basis as an educational institution. The cost of acquisition plus improvements over time is approximately $4,073,000.
If the District and Western Gateway Park District cannot reach agreeable terms regarding the sale of the property, notification of availability will be sent to agencies listed on the second tier, which include additional local and state agencies. If no interest is shown by those second tier agencies, or an agreement with any agency listed cannot be reached, it will then be listed for public purchasing at fair market value.