Washoe School District to close Middle School and sell property?
UPDATE: Apr 10, 2023
Since the budget in general involves funding Incline Village Middle School and the below item, consider “public comment” on the idea of closing /or not the Incline Village Middle School.
Tuesday, April 11, 2023, 9:00 a.m. – Central Administration Building, Board Room; 425 East Ninth Street; Reno,
Work Session of the Board of Trustees – WASHOE COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT
2.01 PRESENTATION, DISCUSSION, AND POSSIBLE ACTION ON GUIDANCE TO PERFORMANCE FACT, INC. BY THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES IN ORDER FOR THE BOARD TO PROVIDE INPUT DURING THE DISTRICT-WIDE STRATEGIC PLANNING PROCESS, WITH THE STRATEGIC PLAN COMING BACK TO THE BOARD FOR FINAL DECISION IN JUNE 2023 (FOR POSSIBLE ACTION)
The Washoe County School District (WCSD) plans to hold a meeting on April 5, 2023 regarding possible closure of the Middle School in Incline Village, NV. The 6 acre property, Parcel # 127-030-16 at 931 Southwood Blvd., was sold by the Incline Village General Improvement District to WCSD in 1980. This property has never had any housing units associated with it. Therefore, when the beaches were purchased, no assessments were paid, and it is questionable whether the property has beach access rights.
But there are even more serious questions about this property sale. Does WCSD have good title? The IVGID resolution authorizing the sale required removing the restrictive covenant which limited the land to recreational use only. THIS WAS NEVER DONE. So there was no authorization for the sale by IVGID. IVGID had gone to Judge Breen for a judicial confirmation on the sale to WCSD. 
Judge Breen said NO: school use was NOT a recreational or related use (Board minutes below Feb 28, 1980). But General Manager McMillin and Trustee Englehard signed the deed for the land sale on March 13, 1980 anyway. And WCSD cannot prove they actually paid $284,600 for the property – which is quite amazing. The deed is dated March 13, 1980 – yet there was NO MENTION of it in the minutes of the IVGID Board Meeting of March 13, 1980 (7 pm – 11 pm).Read the FACTS below.
Local residents who have concerns should contact their Trustees: CLICK to send an email to WCSD Trustees. CLICK to send an email to IVGID trustees. These are the people who make the decisions.
The meeting will be at the Duffield Theater Wednesday April 5, 2023 at 5 pm.
UPDATED April 6, 2023: Nevada law, NRS 386, sets the boundary of each school district as the boundary of each COUNTY. So forming a city would have NO EFFECT on schools.
FACTS
A. The Incline Village General Improvement District’s Resolution 1369 [Exhibit A] stipulated a price of $284,600, and was dated March 27, 1979.
“resolved that Kermit McMillin, as General Manager of the District, and Gregory Engelhard, as Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the District, be authorized to sign the necessary escrow papers. This authorization is subject to the School District working out the problems over the deed restrictions.
B. The deed restrictions are described in the deed dated November 16, 1977 [EXHIBIT B, page 14] when the District purchased the land from the Boise Cascade Home & Land Company:
1. The Property shall be used only for park and recreational purposes.
3. All of these restrictions shall run with the land and shall be binding upon grantee, its successors and assigns, and all persons claiming by, through and under them, for a period of fifty (50) years from the date these restrictions are recorded.”
C. The Preliminary Title Report dated March 13, 1980 [EXHIBIT C, page 2] showed the deed restrictions had not been removed:
“6. Covenant, conditions and restrictions, as contained in a deed from Boise Cascade Home and Land Corporation, to Incline Village General Improvement District, dated November 16, 1977, recorded October 13, 1977, in Book 1168, Page 174, Document 503002, Official Records. “
D. The deed was dated March 13, 1980. [Exhibit D].
E. April 21, 1980 Title Insurance [Exhibit E, page 2] showed the deed restrictions remained:
“5. Covenant, conditions and restrictions, as contained in a deed from Boise Cascade Home and Land Corporation, to Incline Village General Improvement District, dated November 16, 1977, recorded October 13, 1977, in Book 1168, Page 174, Document 503002, Official Records. “
F. Statute of Frauds: Every purchase contract in Nevada must comply with the statute of frauds. It: 1) Must be in writing, 2) State the consideration given by the parties for the contract, and 3) Be signed by the owner (seller) or his or her lawfully authorized agent. [Exhibit F]
1. Every contract for the leasing for a longer period than 1 year, or for the sale of any lands, or any interest in lands, shall be void unless the contract, or some note or memorandum thereof, expressing the consideration, be in writing, and be subscribed by the party by whom the lease or sale is to be made.
2. Every instrument required to be subscribed by any person under subsection 1 may be subscribed by the agent of the party lawfully authorized.
H. Since the covenants (deed restrictions) were not changed or removed, there appears to be no authorization. And without authorization, the contract is void, per NRS 111.120.
I. Public records requests were made of both Washoe County School District and the Incline Village General Improvement District (IVGID). The IVGID provided: 
– a copy of Resolution 1369 [Exhibit A], and
– a copy of the Preliminary Title Report [Exhibit C].
They stated that they did not have a purchase/sales agreement or any other records [Exhibit G].
![[Exhibit G].](http://ourivcbvoice.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/G_2017_IVGID_PRR_No_purchase_Sales_agreement_for_middle_School.png){kind=link}
The Washoe County School District provided:
– A copy of the Preliminary Title Report, dated March 13, 1980 [Exhibit C].
– A copy of the Title Insurance Policy, dated April 24,1980 [Exhibit E].
– A copy of Boise-IVGID deed [Exhibit B – contains the deed restrictions on page 14].
The WCSD stated they did not have a purchase/sales agreement or any other records. They did not have a record of payment; they examined their paper general ledger to determine this, as the general ledger is a permanent record [Exhibits H1 and H2]
The author, J. Gumz, is a long-time resident and property owner of Incline Village and a registered voter.
The county cannot prove ownership. It was illegally transfered per the deed. This has come up also with the parasol bldg. Ownership needs to be reverted back on both properties to IVGID and if Washoe County can prove they paid that amount it needs to be refunded without interest back to the county. Was the transfer done to the school district or to the county. Many questions.Truly an illegal transfer.
Thank you for your comment. It certainly appears to have been an illegal transfer – NOW that we know the facts. As you can see from the Deed – the article contains a link – the property was [illegally] conveyed to the Board of Trustees, Washoe County School District.
Does the restrictive covenant expire in 2027? If so this argument may be mooted.
The property was sold without authorization. So, no, this argument does not become “moot”.
I don’t recall receiving anything whatsoever from the County or IVGID informing me of the plan to close the middle school, let alone providing an explanation of why this could possible be rational. Before making a decision with such a major impact on the entire community (let alone the families with young children), the County and the Board definitely owe us all an explanation, and it needs to be one that isn’t quietly hidden under the rug.
This is definitely a Washoe County School District responsibility – not the County or IVGID. IVGID was responsible for the land transfer back in 1980, and IS responsible for taking action now that these facts have been brought to light. In the article, you can click the link to send an email to the 7 WCSD Trustees, and the name emails will be displayed to you. You should be able to then write your own email message.
Having a meeting like this during the week of Easter is extremely poor timing. Perhaps that is part of WCSD’s plan.
Thank you for the copy of the deed to clarify who thinks they are the legal owner of the property. As stated before, the title is clouded. Very clouded. And with the WCSD not even able to prove that they purchased the property for a purported over 200K. and the deed says $10.
There is not much time left to determine the outcome of this property if one is using the recreational designation.
IVGID needs to step up and figure out the transfer and payment or reclaim the property.
Yes, we all need to email or call our IVGID Trustees. One can hardly expect Trustees to “do the right thing” when IVGID Chair of the Trustees, Gregory Englehard, clearly did the WRONG thing by signing the deed.
Thank you for your diligent research on this matter. The potential closure and subsequent sale of the property requires community input, which to the best of my knowledge has been lacking.