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Board counsel recommends rejecting agricultural lease bid, revising hunting leases to protect timber and oil/gas rights
Summary
District counsel and staff recommended rejecting the current agricultural lease bid package and negotiating new hunting lease terms tied to market rates, shorter terms and provisions subordinating hunting rights to oil and gas lessees where appropriate.
NATCHITOCHES, La. — School board staff and counsel recommended the board reject the current agricultural lease bid package and seek revisions to hunting lease contracts, citing unclear per‑acre valuation, overly long terms and the need to preserve the district’s ability to market property for oil, gas and timber opportunities.
Board counsel Joe Stamey and district staff told members that the agricultural bid package lacked a standard method for calculating a fair per‑acre lease rate and that current lease terms were too long to allow the board to respond to changing market conditions. Staff proposed consulting an agricultural extension or other market source to create a consistent per‑acre standard and to include language that makes oil and gas lessees’ rights superior to hunting or agricultural lessees where appropriate.
"What has been proposed is to get with that culture extension or some other agricultural based, entity that can offer us guidance on what a fair per acreage rate should be moving forward," a staff presenter said, describing the need for market‑based standards. Counsel added the existing packages did not adequately account for recent oil and gas and mineral activity or merchantable timber values and that revised leases should protect the board’s ability to market those rights.
Staff said they will present a proposed new agricultural bid at the Sept. 15 meeting and that, for the hunting leases, they plan to accept the highest bidders only if those bidders agree to negotiated modifications that include revised term lengths, stronger insurance requirements and subordination to oil and gas lessees where applicable. Counsel invited potential lessees to submit questions by email and offered contact details: "email me at joe@stameylawfirm.com... or call my office to set up a time to visit at (318) 352‑4559," he said.
A committee of board members will meet Friday, Sept. 5, at 2 p.m. to review draft lease language and proposed valuation approaches; staff said the committee will not constitute a quorum but will inform the Sept. 15 recommendations to the full board. The district did not vote on these recommendations during the meeting; staff characterized the proposals as recommended changes and next steps.
Staff emphasized that any acceptance of hunting bids at the Sept. 15 meeting would be contingent on lessees agreeing to the revised lease form and terms prior to execution.
No final board action was recorded at the meeting; staff expect to return with modified documents and a specific motion for formal consideration on Sept. 15.
