PORT ANGELES — Fairview Elementary School is officially for sale, and prospective buyers can make an offer anytime, Port Angeles School District officials said.
The School Board held the first of two public hearings necessary to sell the campus, which sits on 9.48 acres at 166 Lake Farm Road east of Port Angeles.
An appraisal conducted in January placed a value of $904,000 on the school, said schools Superintendent Jane Pryne.
“The sale price must be no less than 90 percent of the appraised value, according to state law,” Pryne said.
Total sum declines
The school previously was appraised in 2010 for $1,055,000.
The January appraisal notes an obvious decline in the condition of the property from the 2010 appraisal.
Because of state law, the district cannot consider any offers it gets until 45 days after Monday’s meeting.
The second hearing will take place after April 25, to consider any offers the district receives on the property.
“The state is extremely slow in surplusing property,” School Board President Lonnie Linn said.
Pryne said the district would not consider any lease or lease-to-own offers.
“The district is not interested in being landlords,” she said.
Any sale of the property is unlikely to close before summer, she said.
At least two private schools in the area have shown interest in the property and building: Five Acre School, currently located in Dungeness, and Olympic Christian School, currently split into two locations east and south of Port Angeles.
Coincidentally, Olympic Christian’s main kindergarten-through-eighth-grade operation is in the original Fairview School at O’Brien Road and U.S. Highway 101 that was replaced by the Lake Farm Road campus now up for sale.
No one at the hearing spoke in favor of or against the sale.
Two representatives from Olympic Christian School were present to inquire about the school building’s historic electrical costs and lead paint or asbestos issues that the school may have.
Closed in 2007
The newer Fairview was closed in 2007 because of declining enrollment.
The main building was constructed in the 1960s and upgraded in 1973 and 1978.
The School Board decided to put the property on the market in 2012 to help fund the replacement of several aging schools in the district.
Prospective buyers were referred to Nolan Duce, district supervisor of facilities, for questions regarding the physical condition and maintenance history of the buildings and property, and financial questions were referred to Kelly Pearson, director of finance.
Four-year vacancy
The appraisal, completed by Rick Wells of Silverdale, noted that the building has been vacant for four years, with reduced or deferred maintenance resulting in peeling paint; a broken window; moss growth on shingles; vegetation on sidewalks, the driveway and roof surfaces; and general landscaping and pruning issues.
School Board members noted that there are several dead trees on the property and that other landscaping had been dug up and removed for use in other places.
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Reporter Arwyn Rice can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5070, or at arwyn.rice@peninsuladailynews.com.
