The Culver Community School Board made a decision Monday to move forward with selling the property and building of the old Monterey Elementary School. The two appraisals required by the state in order to begin the process of selling have been finished and reported to the board. A lawyer invited to the board meeting came to educate board members on the options for selling the building and other requirements the school must meet in order to move forward.
Before discussing the options for selling, the board discussed the price of the building and where the money would be going. The average of the two appraisals was $54,500. According to the state, if sold, the building’s earnings must be put back into the same account it was taken from. But since the building was bought in the 1950s by the Tippecanoe Township Schools, which consolidated with Culver Community Schools, the account the money was taken from is hard to track. The school will have to provide information to the state proving the consolidation if the money is to remain in the Culver School system.
The options provided to the board for selling the building are as follows. They can give or sell the building to either a government sub-unit, to the state of Indiana, or to a nonprofit entity organized for either educational or recreational purposes. If they do not choose one of those three options, they can list it with a realtor, hold an auction, or hold something similar to a silent auction. This silent auction would be available for bidders to place bids for 60 days, raising their bids if they choose to.
A few of the board members recalled an old building that a board attempted to sell through a silent auction a while back that didn’t go well due to two battling bidders. But after that board changed tactics and went to a regular auction, the sale went very well.
Before making a final decision, the board wants to take a step back and look at the pros and cons of each option. They appointed a committee to look into each option and report back at the next meeting in August with their findings. From there, they will decide on the action they would like to take with the building.
