U-234 board ponders use for FSMS sale funds
Fort Scott USD 234 has already made more than $22,000 off the old Fort Scott Middle School building, 412 S. National Ave, and it hasn't even sold yet. Should it sell to the most recent approved bidder, the district will receive another $75,000, making the total gained from the sale nearly $100,000.
But what is the district planning to do with that money? According to USD 234 Business Manager Alan Drake, a few ideas are already being thrown around by the Board of Education.
Drake said the money the district receives from the sale of the building is being kept as a separate fund instead of simply being added to the district's general fund account. He said it is being kept separate so that the board can know exactly how much has been gained through the sale. Drake said that once the building is finally sold, the board will evaluate the money gained and will then decide what that money will be used for.
Possible projects funded by that money may include the construction of a district carpentry shop, Drake said, which will replace the one in the old FSMS building. Drake said the district still uses the old shop for many of its various projects, such as building shelves, cabinets or anything needed throughout the district. Though the district will no longer own the building, which includes the carpentry shop, Drake said the current bidder, Robert Gbobaniyi, will allow the district to use the building for up to a year after the sale.
That year-long access will also help the district find time to relocate many of the items in the old building, which Drake said the district also uses for storage of surplus furniture, equipment and many other items. Drake said that finding an alternate storage location is also an idea for the use of the money gained from the sale.
Despite having some ideas, Drake said the board has not decided on any specific project to be funded by the sale's income.
"We will have to evaluate what we need at that time and just go from there," Drake said. "There may be some more important projects come up in the future that the board chooses to use that money for."
Because certain safety measures, such as a working fire alarm system, are no longer in place in the old FSMS building, no student activities are conducted there, Drake said. Therefore, there will be no need to find other places to have those types of activities. Drake added that the building addition just west of the building, which includes a gymnasium and the Learning Center, will not be part of the sale.
Gbobaniyi's bid of $75,000 was approved by the board during the March 5 regular board meeting. Gbobaniyi has already paid $1,000 in earnest money to Othick Abstract Company. The closing date for the sale is scheduled for April 15.
Gbobaniyi has told the district that he plans on turning the building into a low income housing operation.
The building became available for new bidders when the district's contract with developer Romeo Comeau went into default after Comeau failed to close on Jan. 26, the date the board approved as the final closing date after numerous extensions. Comeau had already paid the district $22,248, which was $52,248 short of what the agreed upon closing cost was. Despite the defaulted contract, Drake said, the $22,248 is the district's money to keep.