UCSD Board Addresses Unexpected Discovery in Dysart
It may be unused by the school district, but it’s certainly used by the community.
The UCSD Board of Education held a public hearing last night regarding the sale of unused school district property in Dysart. The first question: what property? On the surface, it appears that all district-owned property is occupied and in use. Naturally, we wanted to find out what this was all about.
The City of Dysart’s Family Aquatic Center sits just across the street from DG Elementary School. The city had applied for grant funding to make upgrades and improvements to the center, but one of the grant stipulations requires the city to own the property. That’s when officials discovered something unexpected: the city does not actually own the land the aquatic center occupies — the school district does.
Today, nobody knows exactly what agreements or understandings may have existed between school and city officials decades ago regarding land ownership or usage. The pool is believed to have been built in the 1950s, meaning any arrangements would date back at least that far. There was another complication as well: a public street has run through the property for so long that even past school officials may not have realized the district still owned the land across the street from DG Elementary School. Ultimately, that portion of the story remains somewhat of a mystery.
Nevertheless, the UCSD Board of Education held a public hearing to discuss selling the land to the City of Dysart. Two community members attended the hearing, but only KRTR Local asked questions, the answers to which are reflected in this article. The other attendee was present for a separate matter during the regular board meeting.
During the regular meeting, the board approved the sale of the land to the City of Dysart for $1. The symbolic sale price reflects the understanding that, for decades, everyone believed the city already owned the property. Requiring the city to pay market value could potentially jeopardize future pool operations and important city-school partnerships.
What began as a routine property question ultimately uncovered a decades-old mystery — and ensured the future of a facility generations of Dysart families have used for decades.