The Sedona-Oak Creek School District Governing Board isn’t committed to following through with selling the former Big Park Community School in the Village of Oak Creek to a private party. However, during its meeting on Tuesday Feb. 13, the board moved to start the process of having the voters in November decide if the district should have that ability.

“We can’t wait for [Yavapai] County because we asked [District 3 Supervisor] Donna Michaels this when she presented whenever that was. I mean it was months ago, over a semester ago, what’s the  timeline?” board member David Price asked during the meeting. “I think we put in the markers, get the idea on the ballot, get folks in Big Park energized if they want to get discussing and engage with us and with the county and move. Because if we don’t, this is kind of a fish or cut bait moment.”

The move is in response to a lack of movement over a proposed lease-to purchase agreement for Yavapai County to take over the property, and the rapidly closing window to get it on the November ballot as an option. Legally, SOCSD has the ability to sell its property to another government agency, but requires voter approval to sell it to a private party.

The board’s last action on the proposed lease-to purchase agreement was its July 11 authorization of a non-binding letter of intent with Michaels.

“This letter is issued by and on behalf of District 3 Supervisor Donna Michaels individually and is therefore subject to review and approval by the Yavapai County Board of Supervisors,” Michaels’ letter read.

“If we were to go to the ballot to receive permission from our community to sell the Big Park property, and if it were to pass, there’s nothing that says that we have to sell that property,” SOCSD Tom Swaninger stressed during the meeting, “We just now [would] have the ability to do so.”

SOCSD is still extremely receptive to the idea of Yavapai County to take over the property.

“We’ve reached the point now I think that … it doesn’t look like that county [agreement] is moving forward, and it doesn’t seem to be at the moment,” board member Karen McClelland said. “Maybe it will happen, maybe it won’t. But there doesn’t seem to be any actual plan or process and we know that’ll take some time.”

“We don’t want to stretch this out to the point we’re looking at the 2026 election to have permission to sell it,” Price later said. “In the meantime the property continues to deteriorate. There’s already roofing issues that we can’t afford as a school district to repair in good faith and good conscience with what our primary role is for the students because we don’t have any students down there.”

The board anticipates that it would take a fair amount of time to find a buyer and SOCSD would still be responsible for its maintenance during the listing process.

“The reality, at least at this point is [that] it [has] not come to fruition,” Swaninger said during the meeting. “I just want us to be really thoughtful with not only the direction that we are taking the decisions for this property, but the timing of that as well. The farther we kick this can down the road, the property is not improving, it is going in the opposite direction. … It would be in my opinion, a grave mistake, to use our own taxpayer dollars to improve a building that does not serve students.”

County Space Study Yavapai County hired the architecture firm Gensler to entire assess all county building space demands of all properties it owns or leases.

The about $500,000 study currently does not include the Big Park Community School, following a tabling of an amendment to include it in the study during the Jan. 17 meeting of the Yavapai County Board of Supervisors.

Not including the property within the study does not preclude the Board of Supervisors from eventually voting on the proposed lease-to- purchase agreement according to Yavapai County spokesman David McAtee.

“We can’t begin that process or consider it, actually, until we complete our space study,” Michaels said in a Thursday, Feb. 8 video message to the nonprofit Big Park Regional Coordinating Council.

“I expect some results at the end of this month and then probably by spring, we’ll be able to make a decision and begin the process should the entire board approve this, which I’m working hard to make happen.”

Michaels has also stressed her commitment to the project during a recent interview with Sedona Red Rock News.

BPCS Costs

“I had some capital infrastructure experience with maintenance on ships,” Price said. “The worst possible thing you can do to a capital asset is mothball it because [of] the cost to bring it back,. … We’ve already discussed on this board that the chances of that ever being a school [again] are basically zero. And so once that decision [and] calculation has been made. Now all it’s doing is sitting there in mothballs for the most part. Obviously it’s being worked on and cared to the degree that we can afford to do that. But the cost to ever bring it back to its former glory is going to skyrocket and then the value of property is going to decrease over time. The words ‘financial albatross’ I think is exactly fitting.”

The annual cost of the Big Park property is $14,114, however, that doesn’t include the time cost to administrators for duties like payroll. The property does not currently have an assessed value at this time according to Swaninger. For fiscal year 2023 its utilities and maintenance cost was $54,139, SOCSD is not paying any loans on the property but for fiscal year 2023 it also paid a part-time groundskeeper $16,930 for the site.

“The need for maintenance and repair will increase over time with disuse,” Swaninger said. “Maintaining the property challenges our human resource capacity as we frequently divert staff from operating schools to tend to repair, maintenance, and compliance requirements at Big Park.”

Additionally the roof is in need of repair for the estimated cost of $146,000, which would be paid for by Yavapai County as credit against monthly rent payments if a lease-to-purchase agreement is approved.

Two organizations currently use the property which brought in $56,955 in revenue in FY 23: A satellite campus of Christian Faith Fellowship, based out of Tucson, which pays a $996.25 monthly lease, and the Sedona Public Library in the Village which pays a $3,750-per month lease.

SPL since the figures provided by SOCSD has added the Javelina Room and currently pays $4,591 a month for rent at the property.

“The purpose of our district is to provide the best educational experience for the students that we serve,” Swaninger said during the meeting. “Every minute, every hour, every day that we allocate leadership toward repairing, being present in buildings. … All of that takes away from the resources and time is an essential resource for better serving our students. [It’s a] small district, we have a small leadership team, we try to be very fiscally responsible and stretching our [resources]. … But the more thin we are stretched, the less depth we are able to offer our students.”

Managing the district’s property and its effect on administrative resources also came up in the next agenda item of the meeting during a discussion of the history and affordability of the Sedona Performing Arts Center.

“I think having the community call Donna Michaels’ office and talk with her about it is a great idea to get the community members out there to push for what they’re looking for,” board President Randy Hawley said at the close of the discussion. “We’ll get this together [and] put it on the agenda for next month.”

“The next step … to reach out to experts in the field, attorneys, etc,” Swaninger said. “To have an understanding of what the path looks like to get it on the ballot. … I will present that to the board in [an] open session. I can’t guarantee it but likely it will be an action item to be voted on at the next board meeting in March.”

The next Governing Board meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, March 5 at 4 p.m. in the multipurpose room at West Sedona School, with an anticipated longer discussion on the Big Park property.

Update

Since Sedona Red Rock News first included Michaels’ video update to the Big Park Regional Coordinating Council in the web version of this story the supervisor has released a correction.

“The Village [of Oak Creek] is not yet included in any broadband expansion contracts,” Michaels said in a Feb, 21 letter to the BPRCC that was released in the council’s Wednesday, March 6 newsletter.