The Prescott School District received bids earlier this month on a 14.6-acre parcel of land that school officials say is unusable by the school district.

However, organizers of the Coulee River Trails told Prescott School Board members at their Nov. 15 meeting that the land is a vital piece of the trail system they are working to put together.

The bids weren’t presented in open session. Rather, the board held a closed session to discuss bids received. The board decided to accept bids on the parcel at its October meeting, and they were due Nov. 13. The property has a deep ravine. It’s landlocked and located east of Dexter Street and just to the south and east of the First National Bank Fields where Cardinal teams play softball.

The board met in closed session over the summer when Superintendent Dr. Rick Spicuzza was contacted by someone interested in buying the land. Spicuzza told the board last month that the school could never build on the site or use it as a place for athletic facilities because of the terrain, and it’s heavily wooded.

Neighboring property owners were contacted and invited to submit proposals.

Board members stressed the proposals were the beginning of the process and amount to the board doing due diligence in light of the fact that it had to use fund reserves to balance this school year’s budget, and it is facing a shortfall of up to $1.3 million next year. The board is also expected to discuss going to voters for a referendum in the spring for additional operating funds.

Israel Haas of Prescott has been one of the driving forces behind development of the Coulee River Trails. Trail organizers are working to develop a trail system south from Magee Park, through Oak Grove Township and back up to tie into the Prescott High School property. Haas said one impetus behind starting the Coulee River Trails in 2021 was when he was invited to look at the property the district received proposals on.

The land is in the Coulee River Trails’ Zone One. Haas said he showed the school board a video at a meeting with a National Parks Service official talking about the educational and recreation benefits of the wooded area filmed on the 14.6-acre parcel.

“Over the next few years, we formed a zone one committee consisting of school administrators, teachers and community members to plan for trails and outdoor learning environments on this property,” Haas said.

In March of this year, the school board passed a resolution of support of the trail system “in which you acknowledge that the Prescott School Board has reviewed and supports the vision of Coulee River Trails and the City of Prescott’s Comprehensive Outdoor Plan,” Haas said. “The 14.6-acre parcel of land that you’re proposing to sell has tremendous potential for educational value and is a key part of the overall trail corridor.”

Trail systems also help communities grow, he said.

“The vision for Coulee River Trails is to harness unbuildable sections of land for public good. Trail systems like this in other communities have attracted new businesses, new visitors and new families which ultimately increases the number of students in the school district and increases revenue from the state for the school district’s budget.”

He urged the board that, if it’s sold, easements be put in place to allow for the trails.

“We’re asking you not to sell the parcel without guaranteeing access for students and the community,” Haas said.

Trail system volunteer Jared Schmitz echoed those sentiments.

“That land is incredibly beneficial to the school and to the community. I want to state that I do not believe that should be sold off to a private entity,” he said.

He urged the school district to look into developing a school forest on the land and embrace it for educational purposes.

Joel Rice also addressed the board and said one of the bids they’d be considering was from him, but he just wants to purchase 2-2.5 acres behind his home that wouldn’t interfere with planned trails. He said he didn’t want to see development on the parcel.

“They don’t make more land. I don’t care how you try. This would help a compromised situation,” he said.

Spicuzza said the school district runs many community educational programs and has developed its cross country trails behind the high school. He said the district needs to explore options, given its budget situation.

“We own a lot of green space and run community rec and youth rec, and we know that there are many benefits to the land that is there, but also there is a school board’s responsibility to make sure that the best interest of our students and staff is at the forefront,” he said, noting that the district is at the forefront locally in terms of academic performance. “Part of that is contingent that we can run programs and have and retain staff based on a budget that allows us to do that.”

Board members agreed that it was their duty to explore all options with the land, and that they’d like to see more concrete plans from the Coulee River Trails group and what the nearby progress is on trail development.

“I think our main focus was we needed some idea on what we’re sitting on and what the possibilities are if we need to go down the route of selling,” said Vicki Rudolph. “I’d like to see all of this work out. We’ve got options, and I think that what we found out tonight is there’s options that the community has presented to us and more things that we can explore that we weren’t aware of,” she said.

“I’m glad that everyone came in and let us know because the conversation will be much deeper now,” said Helen Stoeckel.

“I think many of us felt like it was fiscally responsible to our community to at least explore what that looks like, especially knowing that we are going under some really big budget cuts or else other ways to find funding,” said Tanya Holub. “This is just one asset that we’re holding onto, and we’re really right now looking at everything, just to kind of explore, and I think that’s the responsible thing to do.”

She pointed out that the district has other wooded land that perhaps could be utilized as a school forest.

“I feel like we’re on the same page. We’re trying to be open minded here,” Board President Mike Matzek said. “We’re just starting this process in my opinion. In order to understand what potential we have with that property financially, among other things, with the Coulee River Trail and other folks interested in it, we had to get to this point. We have to understand what the value is of that property so we can better make informed decisions. I think that’s the bottom line.”

An update on the Coulee River Trails website described the timing of the proposed sale as “very unfortunate.”

“After three years of hard work, the vision for the trail system is starting to become reality,” the website said. “Many exciting developments are happening in other parts of the Coulee River Trails System. We are securing funds to acquire a 76-acre parcel of land along the Mississippi River with the help of Landmark Conservancy and a $461,000 DNR grant.”

The group has partnered with the city to create a mountain bike skills course at Magee Park, to clear new all-season multiuse trails and to provisionally secure a $280,000 DNR grant to fund the construction of paved ADA-accessible trails, a paved parking lot, and other amenities.