IN SPITE OF ALL, IT'S A GOOD DEAL

To the editor:

I am one of the minority who voted in favor of all the Jackson school bond and tax issues in April. I know teachers are grossly underpaid, and we need to retain, recruit and attract the best. We've recently lost some great prospects.

Many folks, and rightly so, are unhappy that the Board of Education went out and bought land for a new East Elementary School prior to obtaining voter approval for a new school. Don't get me wrong. I think the district made a good purchase. However, I also think the contract should have contained a contingency that would have let the district out of the real estate contract if the bond issue failed. This makes sense, but I'm told the owner wouldn't go for that provision.

Where do we go from here? First, the Board of Education should adopt a real estate acquisition policy. One set of circumstances would apply to adjacent lands to existing schools, another set of guidelines would be similar though different for new stand-alone schools. District patrons could help draft such a policy. A professional appraisal of any land sought to be acquired is a starting point and should be required. That would avoid the situation of the new city-owned industrial park in Jackson where the city paid double the apparent market price without a vote of the people.

The good news: Jackson School District got a good deal from developer Stacy Mansfield for the 16 acres for the new school. The board paid $20,000 and acre, or $320,000, for an ideal site that includes the following utilities and infrastructure: City electric, city sewers, natural gas, 36-foot paved concrete street, access to a city 10-inch water main and excellent location and level site.

As long as these improvements are made as promised by the seller, the price paid is truly one of the best real estate purchases for solid value. Based upon the real estate experience of our firm, we know that land cost is many times just a drop in the bucket compared to development costs. The excellent price may explain why the board acted so hastily in acquiring the site.

As a comparison price, the city of Jackson recently paid almost a million dollars, or $15,000 an acre, for 65 acres of undeveloped land north of Jackson. Ten or more acres of the land is in the Hubble Creek floodway, which brings the net cost of usable land to $17,700 an acre. The remainder of the real estate has no power or sewers, and it is hilly. Bringing utilities to the site could conservatively cost $500,000 or more, adding $8.000 to $10,000 an acres to the cost. Excavation costs will add even more to the total.

My point is this: Yes, the school district may have acted hastily in acquiring the land. Some say a certain arrogance set in. I don't think so. The board received good value for our money.

I think the best of these board members. They are and remain dedicated members of our community committed to the finest education they can bring to our children and families. By the way, they really know where to find a bargain in real estate. A good investment in real estate can also be a great investment in education.

JOHN P. LICHTENEGGER

Attorney

Jackson, Mo.