The Lon Morris College bankruptcy auction has concluded and Jacksonville ISD was one of the highest bidders on several properties.
The auction began on Monday of last week. Tuesday, KLTV received information on the highest bidders, all of whom are from Jacksonville.
The Lon Morris gymnasium is just one of the many properties Jacksonville ISD has agreed to purchase. Ameribid said the winning bids totaled nearly $2.2 million.
Hugh Ray III, the Lon Morris attorney, said not everything they planned to sell was included in that auction, so there is still hope to bring in even more.
"There is some real property that we didn't sell that we are going to sell in a subsequent sale. There's property outside of Jacksonville, there's mineral interests and mineral royalty interests that we are selling separately, and then there are other assets in the form of litigation, and certain potential assets in foundation accounts all of which we will use to pay the creditors," Ray confirmed.
Jacksonville ISD had board approval to participate in the auction. One property they were really fighting for? The gym.
"We will have a basketball game against John Tyler where will be turning fans away because we do not have space to put them."
The gym is not the only facility the district acquired.
"We basically bid on three different lots that were part of the process. Those lots were the gym and the acreage of the gym and then there was some land that currently had the baseball and softball fields on them, but we wanted the land aspect and then also the administration building," said Jacksonville ISD Superintendent Dr. Joe Wardell.
Dr. Wardell also said they are not having to borrow any money to pay for the properties.
"This money is reserve fund money that we have in the banks that we are not having to borrow in any way; we are not having to issue any bonds or anything else. This will be an outright purchase," Dr. Wardell explained.
Ray is calling the auction a "success".
"The sale will confirm a plan of reorganization. I believe a confirmed plan of reorganization will guarantee a distribution to the unsecured creditors. It will also guarantee, I believe, payment of the former employees past due wages, which is one of my primary considerations," Ray said.
