MOORPARK : High Court to Rule on School Property
The California Supreme Court will decide in upcoming months whether school districts statewide must sell property to public agencies at a reduced cost. The case will be heard as the result of a two-year dispute between Moorpark city and school district officials over the former high school site.
In January, a state Court of Appeal ruled that the district must sell a portion of the downtown Moorpark Memorial High School site to the city, upholding the Naylor Act, which allows public entities to buy one-third of extra school property for 25% of its market value.
“The Naylor Act is sort of vague in terms of what happens when the parties can’t agree on fair market value,” said Robert Mason, an attorney for the school district. “There doesn’t seem to be a mechanism for resolving the dispute.”
The city has offered to pay about $300,000 for seven of the site’s 26 acres, while the district wants $700,000.
Mayor Paul Lawrason said he was disappointed that the court last week agreed to hear the case and added that it may delay negotiations between the city and the school district.
“I’m disappointed,” Lawrason said. “I thought the appeal case was very strong.”
Attorneys have about three months to submit written arguments to the court before it will hear oral arguments, Mason said.
The court’s ruling has the “potential for statewide impact,” Mason said. “It will give everyone some guidance.”
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