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IVGID declines offer to purchase old Incline Village elementary school

Washoe County School District recently offered the old Incline Village elementary school to IVGID for $2 million.
Rob Galloway / Tahoe Daily Tribune

INCLINE VILLAGE, Nev. — The improvement district has declined an offer from Washoe County School District to buy the old elementary school property.

The unanimous decision by the board of trustees followed a staff report that also recommended the district decline the offer at this time.

Washoe County School District reached out to IVGID in January asking if it would be interested in purchasing the property, located at 771 Southwood Blvd. In its letter, the district said it does not plan to use the property for future school facilities.



The school district, which participated in IVGID’s draft community services master plan, offered to sell the property for $2 million — $1 million less than an “as-is” appraisal valued the property in September 2017.

The school district asked for a response from IVGID by April 30.



The former elementary school served students from its construction in 1964 until the current elementary school opened in 2003. It has since sat largely unused. It currently has a chain link fence surrounding the school.

As a staff report prepared by IVGID General Manager Steve Pinkerton noted, the property was identified as an “opportunity site” in Incline’s draft community services master plan.

Dog parks, athletic fields, bocce courts, pavilions and a playground were among the potential opportunities identified in the draft plan, which provided three different overall options for the property. The lowest cost option was estimated at $7.25 million.

As the plan noted, one of the major drawbacks to the property is the need to remove the building and parking at an estimated cost of $1 million.

However, with the community master plan still in draft form — trustees are slated to begin reviewing the draft this spring — and no identified funding sources for any aspects of the draft plan, Pinkerton recommended in his staff report that the board decline the opportunity at this time and ask that IVGID be included in the planning and development process if the school district sells it to another public entity.

“Bottom line is staff is recommending we say ‘no thank you’ at this point in time …” Pinkerton said at the board’s Feb. 27 meeting.

Several residents spoke out against the proposal during public comment at the meeting.

Trustees unanimously voted to decline the offer.

Pinkerton’s staff report notes that the school district wants to sell the property “as soon as possible.”

However, a school district spokesperson said WCSD is still evaluating its next steps.

“WCSD has not determined exact next steps yet but will likely be seeking to sell the property,” Charles Rahn with the WCSD Office of Communications and Community Engagement told the Tribune in an email. “District Staff are still figuring out the specifics on how to move forward. We hope to have updated plans for this property in the next couple of weeks we are still working out the details.”


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