H. B. 2724
(By Delegate Pino)
[Introduced February 24, 1995; referred to the
Committee on Education then the Judiciary.]
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 providing for
the sale of board of education property for nominal
consideration without holding an auction provided the use of
the property is for the community and is a non-profit use
and the board of education's deed of conveyance contains a
reversion clause in the event the property is no longer used
for a community non-profit purpose.
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.
If at any time the board shall ascertain that any building
or any land no longer shall be needed for school purposes, the
board may sell, dismantle, remove or relocate any such buildings
and sell the land on which they are located, at public auction,
after proper notice, and on such terms as it orders, to the
highest responsible bidder. But in rural communities, the
grantor of the lands, his heirs or assigns, shall have the right
to purchase at the sale, the land, exclusive of the buildings
thereon, 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 sale to the board: Provided, however, That
this section shall not operate to invalidate any provision of the
deed to the contrary. The board by the same method prescribed for the sale of school buildings and lands, may also lease for oil or
gas or other minerals any lands or school sites owned in fee by
it. The proceeds of such sales and rentals shall be placed to
the credit of such fund or funds of the district as the board may
direct: Provided further, That the provisions of this section
concerning sale at public auction shall not apply to 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, for an
adequate consideration without considering alone the present
commercial or market value of the property, or for nominal
consideration provided the use of the property is for the
community and is a non-profit use and the board of education's
deed of conveyance contains a reversion clause in the event the
property is no longer used for a community non-profit purpose:
And provided further, That the board may make any sale of
property subject to the provisions that all liability for hazards
associated with the premises are to be assumed by the purchaser,
and any sale 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 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.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to provide for the sale
of board of education property for nominal consideration without
holding an auction provided the use of the property is for the
community and is a non-profit use and the board of education's
deed of conveyance contains a reversion clause in the event the
property is no longer used for a community non-profit purpose.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken
from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language
that would be added.