School district moves forward to sell ECMS
By BRENDA SOMMER bsommer@leader-news.com

The prospect of a quick sale has El Campo ISD trustees moving forward with a series of legal steps the district has to take to sell the old El Campo Middle School.

During Tuesday night's meeting, trustees came out of a closed executive session and quickly agreed unanimously to allow ECISD Superintendent Mark Pool to start procedures to sell the now-vacated facility.

Pool has stated an interested buyer exists for the property, and said last week he had an appointment to talk to that buyer this week.

By law, the district has two choices in disposing of the property: It can sell it at market value, or "convey" it to either another educational institution or a non-profit agency.

ECISD trustees have said repeatedly they have no interest in continued ownership of the campus, or being saddled with a facility they don't need that requires expensive upkeep.

To sell the property, the board has to do the following:

• Approve a resolution authorizing the sale of the property, which was done Tuesday night;

• Give notice in the newspaper that the land is for sale;

• Make sure any deed of sale includes language prohibiting use of the property for a segregated school system, and send a copy of that deed to the Texas Commissioner of Education for review before it is signed;

• Sell the property for at least fair market value, which was determined to be $250,000;

• Prepare a request for sealed proposals setting out its requirements; and

• After bids on the property are received and opened, take action to accept a bid or reject all bids. The district cannot sell the property below its fair market value; however, if another school, governmental agency or nonprofit entity wants the land, the board can drop the price below fair market value.

Trustees voted 7-0 to have Pool proceed with the required legal steps for sale of the property.

The old,17.8-acre ECMS campus on MLK Boulevard is in the 100-year flood plain and has flooded repeatedly.

The transition into the new, $17.6-million ECMS facility on FM 2765 took place Feb. 11.