(The Center Square) – The Caddo Parish School Board voted in favor of a $1.3 million bid for the Queensborough Elementary School property nearly four months after announcing its closure.
Seven school board members voted in favor of the bid, while Dr. Bonita Douzart voted no and Christine Tharpe abstained.
The school board met Aug. 19 to hear public comment about the potential sale of the property before ultimately voting in favor. Among those who spoke, Shreveport resident and former Queensborough employee Jaqueline Miller expressed concerns over the parish being “lowballed” for the former elementary school.
“I believe that we are being lowballed,” said Miller. “I believe that the school building is worth more than that. That school suffered a devastating fire in the late ’80s and ’90s… It was completely redone, the foyer and that wing. It is a beautiful school site.”
According to Miller, it takes a large amount to build a new school in today’s climate. She felt the money obtained from selling the school building should go to the schools that absorbed those students.
While Miller felt the parish was being cheated, school board member Barry Rachal expressed a different outlook, noting that this is the most money the board has gotten for a property since he joined nearly two decades ago.
“We have never, not once, gotten this much money for a single piece of property that we’ve ever sold,” said Rachal. “We have sold them at up to 70% discount of appraised value… In this case, we’re getting 93% of what a commercial property appraiser appraised the property at.”
Willis Knighton Health of Shreveport secured the property with its $1.3 million bid. However, it is unclear what they plan to do with it moving forward.
