NEWMAN – The Newman-Crows Landing Unified School District is continuing its bid to purchase two Hoyer Road properties which front Yolo Middle School.

Superintendent Rick Fauss said the district is entering into a contract with the seller to close escrow by the end of the calendar year.

A purchase price of $235,000 has been agreed upon, he said.

“We have some statutory requirements that we have to meet, and the board has to give final approval,” the superintendent explained.

The purchase of the property has been on the board agenda on several occasions but has not been finalized. District officials learned late in the process that the purchase required review by the city’s Planning Commission and the county Department of Education.

Fauss said the district has been negotiating on the property since August.

The properties, which include two homes, stand directly in front of a Yolo classroom wing.

“We want to control the destiny of that property more than anything. There have been rumors of investors looking at that property, and we don’t know what they would do with it,” Fauss commented. “I have always wondered why it didn’t belong to the school district. It is not real large, but it is strategically placed.”

The initial plan is to continue renting the homes as income property while the district develops long-term plans for the area.

“We can continue to rent it out and get some positive cash flow. In the long term I see it as being used for parking or storage,” the superintendent noted. “Additional parking for staff might be warranted out there.”

Fauss acknowledged that purchasing the property in tight budget times is a concern.

“Any time you are spending money you want to make sure you’re getting value for your price,” he reflected. “The money for this purchase is coming from restricted funds, not the district’s general fund.”