Shawnee Mission Superintendent Gene Johnson will recommend to the Board of Education tonight that the district put three of its closed schools up for sale, including two in Prairie Village.
The board is expected to vote on a resolution tonight that would move the sale of Mission Valley, Somerset and Don Bonjour forward.
Whether the district has potential suitors for any of the properties is unknown, but the Prairie Village City Council went into executive session at its meetings May 2 and 16 to discuss the “possible purchase of real property.”
It seems possible the the city might consider the purchase of Somerset as a potential parks and recreation area. Some residents have speculated that Mission Valley might be attractive to the city as a community center, but Councilman David Belz, who’s leading the committee exploring a community center, told the Prairie Village Post recently that the Mission Valley location likely wasn’t an option. Kansas City Christian school, presently located in the former Ridgeview Elementary building, may be a potential buyer for Mission Valley as well — though board chair Allan Chugg said in December the organization hadn’t been in contact with the district about a possible sale.
