Liberty Hill ISD

• Yes, and a school district must receive fair market value for any land or property sold.

• If the district is selling an unused building or facility, it must allow an open-enrollment charter school the opportunity to purchase or lease it before posting it publicly.
  • If the surplus property is vacant land, the district is not required to first offer it to charter schools and may post it publicly for bidding.

• The board must take action to declare the land a surplus
• A bid packet is prepared with all relevant information and published publicly on two separate dates in a newspaper in the county where the property is located.
• The sale can only take place after at least 14 days have passed since the second publication.
• The district must take bids to find the best possible result for taxpayers and the district. 
• After reviewing all bids, the board is not required to accept any offers.

• If the land sold still has debt on it, the funds can only be used for capital improvements and projects, not towards daily maintenance and operations expenses like student programs, salaries, or utility expenses.
• If the land sold is debt-free, the funds can be used for maintenance and operations expenses like student programs, salaries, or utility expenses.

• March 9th, the board took action to declare the land a surplus
• April 17th, the land was posted publicly for bids
• May 26th, the bid period closes.
• After reviewing the bids, the board may take action for sale or may not.

More information on how to bid can be found on this LHISD Business and Finance Webpage.

• The land up for sale is debt-free, and if the land sale is approved, the funds will go into the district's fund balance or savings account.

• Districts must maintain a fund balance to prevent unnecessary borrowing and support long-term financial stability. Having a sufficient fund balance helps the District’s cash management in covering monthly expenses. A healthy balance can help generate higher bond ratings, which results in reduced interest costs.
• The Texas Education Agency (TEA) evaluates a school district’s fund balance as part of the School FIRST rating system. To receive full points on Indicator 6, school districts need 90 days of cash on hand or current investments in the General Fund.
• The Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) recommends an unassigned fund balance of "no less than three months of regular general revenue operating expenditures.”
• Future legislative sessions have indicated an overhaul of the current public school financial system by moving away from local property taxes to primarily fund local public schools. It is unknown how this could impact Liberty Hill ISD, which is why there is a drive to build a healthy fund balance to protect the district’s short-term and long-term needs to support students, staff, and our community.

• LHISD is currently envisioning the future through the long-range planning committee made up of staff, parents, and community members. The land currently up for sale is the only open piece of land with no buildings that is debt-free. The district has identified other land it owns on Highway 183 that was purchased recently with 2021 bond dollars, where a CTE center could go, if the long planning committee and community desire this.

• If you have any questions or ideas to share, or if you’d like to sign up to be part of the Long Range Planning committee, please contact us at communications@libertyhill.txed.net