School division developed, sold land in Riverbend community
Winnipeg Free Press
Tuesday May 3 2005
By Mia Rabson
SEVEN Oaks School Division was told yesterday it contravened provincial laws when it developed and sold almost five hectares of land in Winnipeg's Riverbend neighbourhood.
The division acknowledges it recently developed and sold the land in a community called Swinford Park for $2.7 million. It spent about $2 million to develop the land, including on excavation, fencing and paving, and spending more than $350,000 to buy the land in the first place.
Division Superintendent Brian O'Leary said he didn't think the division had done anything wrong, but provincial education Minister Peter Bjornson thinks differently.
Bjornson said the Public Schools Act allows school divisions to acquire land for new schools or school expansions but not to develop land for other purposes.
"We're going to review the situation but again, the policy is very clear," Bjornson said. "They're allowed to purchase land for the purpose of building a school. They cannot be developers."
Bjornson said he was unaware of Seven Oaks' sideline as land developer until opposition education critic Myrna Driedger asked him about it during question period yesterday. In the house, he was unable to answer her questions. Driedger suggested Bjornson doesn't have a grip on the goings-on in his department, and said buying land to develop residential properties is a ridiculous use of education tax dollars.
"We're questioning whether this is even appropriate and who would have approved it," she said.
"I don't think school divisions can go out on their own like that without government giving them approval. This whole issue just seems very inappropriate," Driedger said.
O'Leary says the Public Schools Finance Board, which must approve all new capital projects, was aware of the division's actions the entire time and didn't disapprove until the land had already been developed and sold.
"The Public Schools Finance Board approved this every step of the way, but has now concluded this isn't something school divisions should do in the future and would not want to see us do it again," O'Leary said.
The subdivision in question is in Riverbend, west of Main Street, between Donan Street and Carsdale Drive and Murray Avenue and Woodbine Avenue. O'Leary says the division acquired the land for the future home of a new West Kildonan Collegiate. When the finance board denied a request for the new high school, the division was left with the land and needed a new plan.
It decided to move towards building a new school for kindergarten to Grade 8 students, which required far less land, O'Leary says. The extra land was then developed and sold off.
"When we acquired it, we intended to sell off for development what we didn't need," he said.
The part it ended up selling equalled about 70 residential units.
All the division owns now is about four hectares, which it hopes to use as the future site of the elementary and middle school.
O'Leary says the division had agreements with the private sector to sell the land before the division spent any money to develop it.
"At no point was any public money ever at risk," he said.
Driedger said if the finance board was aware of the division's development plans, it "basically advised them to contravene the act," and she said she wonders why the minister wasn't aware of the development. The division never tried to hide what it was doing, she said. It made careful note of every expenditure for the development in board meeting minutes.
She also says Seven Oaks should have used the money to lower taxes rather than get into the risky world of land development. Seven Oaks has the second-highest mill rate of Winnipeg divisions, but spends the second least per student. Driedger said the division is gambling with kids' education funding. Bjornson said his department is reviewing exactly what happened, but wouldn't say whether there would be any consequences for the division.
"It's a concern," Bjornson said.