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Salina resident urges board to return family land on Magnolia Road; board acknowledges comment
Summary
David Olsen addressed the board during public forum asking that the district return a family parcel on Magnolia Road or allow the family to repurchase it; he described the family's century-long ownership and said an earlier offer to repurchase was rejected. The board thanked him and did not take action during the meeting.
David Olsen told the Salina Public Schools Board during public forum that his family owned a parcel on Magnolia Road for more than 100 years before the district acquired it in 2025. He asked the board to consider returning the property to his family or allowing a purchase that would "pay back what we got paid for the property."
Olsen said his family had planned to develop the parcel and was prepared to repurchase the land for the original price; he described the district’s continued ownership as allowing the district to "become real estate speculators" and asked whether that aligned with the board’s belief statements about public education and democratic principles. "Is a democratic society based upon one where government and government entities come in and take property, don't use it, and then enrich themselves for doing it?" he asked.
The board thanked Olsen for coming and for sharing his concerns and reminded the public that the forum is non-action and that personnel and student privacy issues are not appropriate for public forum comments. No board motion or follow-up action was recorded on this item during the meeting; staff follow-up (if any) was not noted in the transcript.
Next steps: The public record from this meeting does not indicate a board direction to staff on the property matter; Olsen was advised of the three-minute limit and the board noted appreciation for community input.
