Old school building of interest to potential buyer

There is interest again in the purchase of Center School.

The sale of the old school is among the goals set by the school board for the coming year.

Superintendent Paul Turner advised the board that a person from Moses Lake is pursuing the purchase of the building and adjacent acreage (8.5 acres in all) from the district.

Turner told the board that the party interested had toured the site and was actively pursuing the purchase.

The school was purchased for $155,000 from the Continental Land Company in October 2015, and has been on and off the market since. Twice the district has gone through the motions of advertising the school property for sale, but had no takers.

Turner stated that details of the intended use, and sale price, have not been established, but the parties are talking.

After the district purchased the property, it spent $10,000 to have it appraised, with the appraisal coming in at $190,000.

During the time the school property has been vacant there have been several incidents of vandalism at the building.

Currently the district is planning a giant garage sale of items within the school. Turner said that the sale will likely occur sometime this summer.

Turner also stated that the board has not set a minimum offer that it will accept.

Former superintendent Dennis Carlson is helping with the potential sale.

Decades ago, the Continental Land Company had provided that the school district could use the site for educational purposes, but that when that ceased the site would revert back to Continental Land Company. That’s when the district purchased the building and property.