1950 deed contains automatic reverter for Fellowsville site, board told; counsel outlines waivers and partition option

At the Jan. 12 meeting, legal counsel Kayla Cook told the Preston County Board of Education that title work on the Fellowsville property shows a 1950 deed containing an automatic reverter that would transfer title back to the original grantors or their heirs if the land "ceases to be used" for school purposes.

Cook read the deed language to the board: "it's understood and agreed that the surface land conveyed will be used by the grantee Preston County Board of Education for school or school playground purposes exclusively and for no other purpose. And if at any time the said property shall cease to be used for such purposes, then title to said land shall revert to the grantors herein or their heirs and assigns..." She described that wording as an "automatic reverter" that operates without the grantees needing to take affirmative legal action.

Counsel described two primary paths to clear or manage title: first, contact successors or heirs of the original grantors and request a waiver or release of the reverter right (Cook said this is permitted under West Virginia law); second, if successors cannot all be located or do not consent, file a partition action in Preston County Circuit Court seeking judicial authorization to remove the reverter provision. Cook said the district likely can locate a small number of institutional successors (for example, entities she described as related to a Carnegie Mellon trust and Peabody Energy) whose cooperation could make the waiver route feasible.

Cook also explained practical work needed before sale or conveyance: a boundary survey to address encroachments (she noted dugouts and areas behind home plate appear to encroach on neighbor parcels), decisions about whether to retain the baseball field as a school purpose (which the deed would permit) and demolition options if the board wanted to split the building footprint across parcels. She cautioned that selling the parcel without clearing the reverter would amount to conveying "bad title" because ownership could immediately revert if the property ceases to be used for school purposes.

Cook estimated the legal cost to pursue clearing title could be roughly $5,000–$15,000 depending on whether litigation were required, and recommended first attempting to secure waivers from identifiable successor entities and then, if necessary, pursuing a partition action. The board treated this as a discussion item and did not vote; members asked administration to pursue the waiver option and return with updates.

No formal action was taken at the meeting; administration noted counsel would begin outreach and that additional survey work will be required before any conveyance decision.