At the September 17, 2024 Plano ISD Board Meeting Work Session, the Board voted to sell three properties – Armstrong Middle School, Davis Elementary School, and Forman Middle school – to the City of Plano for an estimated revenue of $13M, confirmed and corroborated by Community Impact.
According to the Collin County Appraisal District, the combined assessed value of these three properties (land and buildings) is $48,552,548.
Armstrong Middle School: $21,081,747
Davis Elementary: $14,000,539
Forman Elementary: $13,440,26
As revealed at the September 17, 2024 Board Work Session as well as in the Resolution the Board passed that evening, Plano ISD will not be offering the properties with land and buildings, but instead…
PLOT TWIST!
At taxpayer expense, Plano ISD will be demolishing the buildings and only offering the land for sale.
Where are the market valuations, commercial appraisals, and comparables before demolition? These are three separate assessments of value. The best indication of market value, you guessed it, is the market. Listing the properties with the buildings and allowing the free market to determine the value would be the most financially beneficial option to a cash-strapped school district.
Trustee Cook tried to ask a fair market value question and the response was they will do an appraisal. He could have asked: “Why did Plano ISD not have an appraisal before asking the Board for the resolution vote?”
Ask good questions.
Trustee Tyra asked for an explanation about the definition of “surface”. She could have asked: “How much does it cost to demolish a building?” “Why are we spending money demolishing the buildings before valuing the property?”
Ask good questions.
According to Plano ISD, the determination of useful life was made by the Long Range Facilities Planning Committee, not by structural engineers or experts in this field.
Plano ISD and the School Board have a fiduciary duty to obtain the best price for its constituents. We know the canned response will be “the schools they want to demolish are functionally obsolescent for future use for Plano ISD” but that may not be the case for another interested party.
As constantly expressed by the City of Plano, we are running out of land and there is no more room for growth. Land prices are astronomically high for existing land. Plano real estate is very valuable. Still, Plano ISD is willing to sell at garage sale prices, seemingly devaluing their own property.
Here are some questions:
- Was the City of Plano the only offer? How do we know? Transparency is not a Plano ISD strongsuit.
- Has Plano ISD received any indications of interest from third parties?
- Has this been offered to the highest bidder?
- What is the plan for the properties by the City of Plano? Shouldn’t City of Plano taxpayers know the plans before the City makes the purchase especially since City of Plano recently voted to raise taxes?
- Should the Plano ISD taxpayers not know the value of the sale and have a say in how it will be used?
??????
Remember, property owners are taxed on market value so why is Plano ISD not selling at market value to the highest bidder? What is the justification for this Buy 1 Get 2 Free deal?
As previously reported, Plano ISD is running a $37 million dollar deficit. Taxpayers deserve better and so do the students. We are concerned that an “MBA” trustee, an “experienced realtor” trustee, a “CEO” trustee, and a “former accountant” trustee have not probed the background and no one can figure out this is not a clearance rack situation. It seems more like a pocket listing in a backroom deal, but what do we know?
Educate Plano 