Empty school costs DCSD thousands each month
By Kathryn Reed
ZEPHYR COVE – A prime piece of real estate on the South Shore sits idle, with no buyer in sight.
The empty 36,000-square-foot former Kingsbury Middle School in Stateline is costing the district between $10,000 and $15,000 a month to ensure the alarm is on, pipes don’t freeze and other basics are taken care of.
The Douglas County School District board first voted to put the 10-acre site on the market in January 2012.
Kingsbury Middle School sits empty. Photo/LTN file
Superintendent Lisa Noonan told the board July 9 that no buyer has come forward. The potential sale has been on the agenda each time the board meets in Tahoe – which is quarterly.
While groups have come forward expressing interest and people have looked at the property, no one has put in an offer. Noonan said all the lookers have said they need to raise the cash.
It’s possible the county’s area plan that is nearly through the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency approval process could ease some of the stipulations on what the land could be used for. There are also Nevada education rules that limit future uses.
The property is listed at $4 million based on an appraisal from close to two years ago. Per state law the district cannot sell for less than the asking price.
An attorney advising the district has said based on the length of time the property has been on the market that legally the price could be lowered.
But board members were not thrilled with that idea, even without offers, based on the real estate market improving at Lake Tahoe.
Board President Tom Moore told Noonan, “I think in October we’ll be looking for creative recommendations in how to go forward (if there is no buyer).”
In other action Tuesday:
• The board voted 4-1 (Neal Freitas abstained and Sharla Hales was absent) to turn Aspire into a stand-alone high school. It has been an alternative education program in the valley until now. The plan is to seek accreditation this coming school year.
Oh what the heck, a million here a million there ! So it goes.
Adt and the heat doesnt cost that much. I call bs. Where is the money REALLY going
Aspire is currently a credit-recovery program housed at its own site. When high school students are behind on their credits, they can enroll in Aspire and take computer courses to make them up. Once on track credit-wise, the student can then re-enroll in their high school (Douglas or Whittell), continue taking classes and hopefully graduate on time. The computer curriculum used at Aspire is called A+. A+ is an independent-study program. Although a teacher is present, he/she is there mainly to monitor the class and perhaps answer a few questions. The teacher also must input certain information before the student can proceed through each lesson of the curriculum. The teacher does not necessarily, however, teach. Students in Douglas County have received credit for lab courses (like Chemistry) as well as Physical Education by sitting in front of a computer. (Some students have earned a semester of PE credit in as little as 5 or 6 days in this manner). The A+ program has also been used at the traditional high schools in Douglas County.
To actually make this computer-based curriculum an accredited high school seems ludicrous to me. Certainly kids need a way to correct mistakes that they have made and catch up on credits. However, to claim a student has completed a lab course or to give an able-bodied kid PE credit for 5 days of “Lifetime Fitness” learning is not education – it’s gaming the system. Clearly, A+ and Aspire offer ways for the district to manipulate the graduation rate rather than provide a quality education for kids.
One other thing – when KMS was closed it was the top-performing middle school in Nevada. Currently Whittell has received a 5-star rating by the state. Funny that you don’t hear about those things in the news…