Plano ISD continues to run in the red, financially speaking.
For the 2023-2024 fiscal year, the Board approved a $24M budget deficit. Last month, Plano ISD announced an even greater projected deficit of $37M for the 2024-2025 fiscal year.
Plano ISD currently owns undeveloped land that it has been sitting on – such as the large parcel acquired in 2015 within the gated University Place neighborhood, currently assessed at $6.5M and where one of the Plano ISD Trustees lives.
Between those land holdings and the anticipated school closures about to be announced, one would expect that the Board Trustees as fiduciaries to taxpayers would sell this surplus property to the highest bidder, using this opportunity to have the largest impact on reducing the deficit.
Not so fast.
At the May 7, 2024 Board Meeting, ahead of announcing the school closures, the Board unanimously passed a resolution to offer Plano ISD owned land exceeding 3 acres as well as Plano ISD schools to the City first, giving the City first opportunity to purchase.
Enter loophole around Texas law?
Sec. 11.1542. OPEN-ENROLLMENT CHARTER SCHOOL OFFER FOR DISTRICT FACILITY. (a) The board of trustees of an independent school district that intends to sell, lease, or allow use for a purpose other than a district purpose of an unused or underused district facility must give each open-enrollment charter school located wholly or partly within the boundaries of the district the opportunity to make an offer to purchase, lease, or use the facility, as applicable, in response to any terms established by the board of trustees, before offering the facility for sale or lease or to any other specific entity.(b) This section does not require the board of trustees of a school district to accept an offer made by an open-enrollment charter school.
- Texas Education Code, Section 11.1542
Let’s break that down.
Plano ISD is obligated under Texas law to give Charter Schools located within its boundaries (in whole or part) the opportunity to purchase, lease, or use the schools it closes. Not the City. Charter Schools. And the City has no such obligation to Charter Schools.
But rather in what appears an attempt to subvert Texas law and its intent, taxpayer funded Plano ISD is going to give the taxpayer funded City the first opportunity to use taxpayer dollars to buy taxpayer owned property. Got it.
No one wants these properties to sit vacant or become a nuisance to nearby property owners. Those that own nearby property understandably want to ensure that the purchasers aren’t going to develop the properties in ways that devalue their own investment or enjoyment of their property.
The Plano ISD Board of Trustees should be capable of making these decisions such that they uphold the law and obtain the highest value for these properties while maintaining the desires of the neighboring property owners, especially since at least two trustees have real estate experience: Michael Cook who “holds an MBA in Real Estate Finance” and Angela Powell who is a “successful realtor” and Charter School employee.
This all seems like a highly contrived scheme by the District and Board of Trustees to circumvent their obligations and responsibilities to the State of Texas, Charter Schools, and Plano ISD taxpayers.
Educate Plano 