Hendry County Schools discusses selling surplus land, seeks appraisals and talks with local utility about land-for-service trade

Hendry County School Board members and staff spent the workshop reviewing dozens of district-owned parcels and discussing options to convert excess property into capital for school needs, including teacher housing and site acquisition for future schools.

Board members and staff described several specific parcels in LaBelle and Port LaBelle and discussed constraints: some tracts are encumbered by third parties (including a grant or reverter clause tied to U.S. Sugar), some are adjacent to utility infrastructure, and two-year-old appraisals were repeatedly described as out of date.

Why it matters: the board framed the discussion as an effort to generate capital for facility needs and to explore long-standing interest in teacher housing — an idea other Florida districts have pursued — while protecting taxpayers and ensuring best use of district land. Board members raised fiduciary concerns about underselling district assets and asked for objective valuation before taking any sales or transfers further.

Discussion highlights

- The superintendent and staff presented maps and parcel values, noting examples ranging from a low-value parcel appraised at $52,035 up to tracts appraised at $475,000 and $950,000. The superintendent said some parcels were effectively controlled by U.S. Sugar and therefore not usable by the district.

- Board members repeatedly requested updated appraisals. One board member said, “I wanna see updated appraisals on this property,”…