The Prior Lake-Savage Area Schools Board of Education voted 6-0 on Monday to accept a buyer's counteroffer for the district services center and to authorize staff to negotiate a purchase agreement, officials said at a special meeting.

Dr. Thomas, presenting the offer, said the district initially listed the property at $2.75 million and that the buyer agreed to a counteroffer of $2.65 million in cash at closing. "The buyer has also agreed to increase the earnest money to $100,000," Dr. Thomas said. He added that the earnest money would become nonrefundable when the buyer completed its due diligence period.

The offer includes a due-diligence window recorded in the meeting as "2 70," which staff described as the industry-standard commercial due-diligence timeline; the board and staff characterized this as a 270-day window to allow buyers to inspect zoning and environmental conditions. Dr. Thomas gave an example of the types of contingencies the buyer could discover, saying a future soil abatement need for an old fuel tank could prompt a revised offer.

Other terms outlined by staff included a 90-day target closing and a 6 percent total commission split evenly between the buyer's and seller's agents (3 percent each). A board member confirmed that Saron Properties originally listed the property at a 3.5 percent commission.

After the presentation and brief questions from board members about the due-diligence timeline and commission rate, Director Smith moved to accept the offer and to authorize staff to proceed with negotiating the purchase agreement; Director Atkinson seconded. The motion passed on a roll-call vote, 6-0.

The board then moved to adjourn; the special meeting ended shortly after the vote.

What happens next: Staff will work with the buyer's agent to complete and sign a purchase agreement consistent with the terms presented to the board. The board did not adopt any amendments or additional conditions during the meeting.