Senate Bill No. 522

(By Senators Oliverio, Prezioso, Plymale, Edgell, Hunter, Guills, Bowman, Rowe and Love)

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[Introduced February 13, 2003; referred to the Committee on Education.]

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A BILL to amend and reenact section seven, article five, chapter eighteen of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to authorizing a county board of education to lease school property that is no longer needed.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:

That section seven, article five, chapter eighteen of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:

ARTICLE 5. COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION.
§18-5-7. Sale of school property at public auction; rights of grantor of lands in rural communities; oil and gas leases; disposition of proceeds; lease of school property.

(a) If at any time the a board shall ascertain determines that any building or any land is no longer shall be needed for school purposes, the board may sell, dismantle, remove or relocate any such buildings the building and sell the land on which they are it is located, at public auction, after proper notice, and on such terms as it orders, to the highest responsible bidder, except as set forth in subsection (b) of this section.
(b) But In rural communities, the grantor of the lands, his or her heirs or assigns, shall have has the right to purchase at the sale, the land, exclusive of the buildings thereon on the land, and the mineral rights, at the same price for which it was originally sold: Provided, That the sale to the board was not a voluntary arms length transaction for valuable consideration approximating the fair market value of the property at the time of such the sale to the board: Provided, however, That this section shall may not operate to invalidate any provision of the deed to the contrary.
(c) The board by the same method prescribed for the sale of school buildings and lands, also may also lease for oil or gas or other minerals any lands or school sites owned in fee by it. The proceeds of such the sales and rentals shall be placed to the credit of such the fund or funds of the district as the board may direct.
(d) Provided further, That The provisions of this section concerning sale at public auction shall may not apply to a county board boards of education selling or disposing of its property for a public use to the state of West Virginia, or its political subdivisions, including county commissions or divisions thereof of county commissions, for an adequate consideration without considering alone the present commercial or market value of the property.
(e) And provided further, That The board may make any sale of property subject to the provisions provision that all liability for hazards associated with the premises are to be assumed by the purchaser. and In any sale by the county board of improved property in which the actual consideration is less than ten thousand dollars or in any sale of unimproved property in which the actual consideration is less than one thousand dollars, the board shall make any sale of property subject to the provisions provision that all liability for hazards associated with the premises are to be assumed by the purchaser. The board shall inform any prospective purchaser of known or suspected hazards associated with the property.
 (f) Additionally, if a county board determines that any school property is no longer needed for school purposes, the county board, by the same method prescribed for the sale of school buildings and lands, may lease the property upon terms agreed to by the school board and the lessee. The board shall also make any lease of property subject to the provision that all liability for hazards associated with the premises are to be assumed by the lessee. The board shall inform any prospective lessee of known or suspected hazards associated with the property.



NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to authorize a county board of education to lease school property that is no longer needed.

Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.