The Montgomery County Council is expected to approve the widely contested sale of a former Rockville high school property Tuesday ?– despite objections from education officials, who say the deal makes little sense in light of growing enrollment and the county’s expected need for new school facilities. A majority of council members say they will approve County Executive Ike Leggett’s proposal to sell the former Robert E. Peary High School site to the Melvin J. Berman Hebrew Academy for $1.9 million.
However, some say the price tag for the 19.5-acre site is far too low, as nearby properties are valued at hundreds of thousands of dollars an acre.
“I don’t believe the appraisal at all,” said Councilman Marc Elrich, D-at large. “Getting it for that little — it was amazing. But I can’t do anything about it. It’s set.”
The private academy struck a deal with the county in 1996 to lease the property with an option to buy. The school opened in 1999 and has pumped nearly $9 million into refurbishing the site.
After education officials blasted Leggett’s proposal, the Berman Academy agreed it would sell the property back to the county if needed again by the school system. County schools opened in August to about 144,000 students, 2,300 more than last fall.
However, critics wonder whether the county is essentially signing away the property for good.
“I’m not persuaded it’s in the long-term interest of the county to sell the property,” said Councilman Phil Andrews, D-Gaithersburg/Rockville. “It’s likely the school will need to get the property back. That would be much easier to do if we were still leasing to them.”
In 2005, the county rejected a similar proposal to sell the property after a council analysis found it was a “sale of a rare asset probably well below market value with no guarantee [the property] would be available for repurchase should the county need to reuse it as a public school.”
But supporters say the county must honor its contract with the academy.
“If you actually take into account the millions of dollars in improvements, you come up with a price tag that is very fair given today’s market,” said Councilwoman Duchy Trachtenberg, D-at large. “This deal makes sense for everyone involved.”
