If approved, the proposal would have allowed the district to enter into a brokerage agreement with Priscilla Terry of Prime Locations Inc., and list the property for $750,000.
District officials say the money is needed to help buy real estate for future school sites.
In addition, superintendent Raj Manhas said the park has been a complex issue, and that the district has spent too much staff time managing the park. He said there have been leases that haven’t been paid, and scheduling issues that the district’s staff has had to deal with, even though the park is supposed to be managed by a separate organization.
“We are here to do everything we can for the community, but not at the cost of kids,” he said.
But the proposal to sell the park without restrictions on its future use drew sharp criticism from about 10 people who addressed the board during its public comment period. Most of them represented South Sound baseball and softball organizations; however there was also a representative from a kennel club and a rugby group that use the sports complex at 425 Marvin Road, Olympia.
See a full story tomorrow's Olympian.
