Lee County School Board to vote on selling 69 acres of land ‘unnecessary for educational purposes’

The Lee County School District is in the process of selling 69.37 acres of land after considering it to be “unnecessary for educational purposes.”

School board members explained how this land along Three Oaks Parkway was purchased back in 2019 to build a new school. But now, they’ve determined the land is not fit for a new school.

According to Florida Statutes, “A district school board…may dispose of any land or real property to which the board holds title which is…determined to be unnecessary for educational purposes.”

Many members expressed they would vote on this matter Tuesday night, as the current net worth of the land stands at $14 million.

But District 2 school board member Melisa Giovannelli questioned whether they will be making money on this sale.

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“I would like to know what those costs were, because that really needs to come off, and of this $14 million that we’re supposedly earning,” said Giovannelli. “Just transparency and being honest with the community that, we screwed up.”

Superintendent Christopher Bernier told school board members he can provide them those numbers, so they can determine whether they may be losing rather than profiting from this land sale.