Bids accepted for all Ewing school property

Whoever wins the bid for the former Ewing School property will own all of it - two school buildings, a vacant tract which sits catty-corner to the former high school and a football field.

Summerland Board of Education members voted 6-0, during its Aug. 16 meeting, to take bids on the property and authorized Superintendent Kyle Finke to work with legal counsel to finalize the bid process. The motion followed a 40-minute executive session.

A legal notice for the property sale is listed on Page 8 of this edition.

Bids are due by Thursday, Sept. 8, at 3 p.m. A $10,000 minimum bid is required. The board reserves the right to reject or accept any bids.

According to the notice, the superintendent will open bids at that time and present them to the board of education at its Sept. 14 meeting, scheduled to begin at 7:30 p.m.

In July, the board voted to reject all offers submitted for the property, due to irregularities. Then, the board directed Finke to make a counter offer or set an auction date.

The village's original proposal for the school property offered $10,000 for all school property and contents, contingent on passage of a 1% sales tax in this November's general election.

During the week of July 18, Finke met with two members of the Village of Ewing Board of Trustees and proposed a counter offer of $20,000 and removal of the contingency.

During a special village meeting on July 22, Ewing officials nixed a motion to purchase the property, without the sales tax proposal, on a 2-3 vote.

Following public comment at the village's Aug. 8 meeting, trustees again defeated a motion, 2-3, to purchase the property.

Other offers were made on the property but details of those business dealings have not been disclosed by the school's administration or board of education.