Property committee reviews surplus-property strategy as vacancies and upkeep costs climb

The Orleans Parish School Board Property Committee on June 2 heard a detailed presentation from facilities staff on the district’s surplus-property strategy, including proposed pathways for dozens of soon-to-be-vacant sites and the fiscal pressure of holding unused buildings.

District facilities presenter Don Leaf told the committee that declining enrollment and rising maintenance costs require more intentional disposition decisions. “We’re finding that things are trending downward as opposed to two years ago when costs were increasing,” Leaf said, summarizing project phase shifts and budget adjustments across the portfolio.

Why it matters: staff said the district spends nearly $950,000 annually to maintain properties that are not actively in use, creating a recurring expense that competes with capital needs. Under the 2023 surplus-property framework, staff evaluates each site for condition, feasibility, capital needs and alignment with long-term educational needs to decide whether to retain, hold, pursue partnership activation, or prepare a site for disposition.

Staff proposed four outcome buckets. Sites recommended for activation through partnership would be matched with community organizations or developers that can bring capital and programmatic capacity. Leaf cited Augustine, Jones, Dr. Alfred Lawless and Joseph S. Clark among examples for partnership consideration and referenced the district-owned site at 4300 Almanaster Boulevard tied to the Ninth Ward stadium project. Properties tagged for disposition are those with capital or structural constraints that make near-term activation unlikely; staff said some of those may require formal surplus designation before sale or other disposition.

On hold: a smaller group will be deferred pending additional analysis, market alignment or timing considerations. The retain-for-district-use category includes properties the district will keep to support operations, swing space, or long-term strategic needs.

Partnerships and process: Leaf said the district has engaged the New Orleans Redevelopment Authority (NORA) to help structure opportunities and that staff is compiling a tracker of groups and organizations that have expressed interest. He said the Augustine property RFP is being reworked to broaden participation. When board members asked about how community groups can express interest, staff pointed to the facilities intake and short-term lease forms available on the district website and said they would share the contact address with the board.

Legal and competitive safeguards: board members stressed that disposition processes must be competitive and transparent. Staff explained three disposition paths currently used: public auction, a brokerage/competitive bid process, and a sealed-bid procurement process; staff added that appraisals are required but noted appraisals typically remain valid for six months and incur costs.

Questions and next steps: Board members pressed staff for tracking on security incidents, arrests and prosecutions at vacant sites and for more detailed cost breakdowns by facility; staff said they would provide those metrics in a follow-up board update. Staff also said preliminary recommendations focus on properties the district expects to control by July 1 and that the board will receive a full list and rationale for each bucket.

The committee took no action on disposition at the meeting; staff will return with more detail and formal recommendations for any items requiring board action.