Lamar County School District officials have approved the purchase of a 50-acre plot of 16th-section land across from former NFL quarterback Brett Favre’s home on U.S. 98 that will open the possibility of future development for the district.
The purchase was agreed upon at Monday’s meeting of the school district’s board of trustees, where board attorney Rick Norton said the district will purchase the land from Charter Land, LLC for $60,000.
The district – which technically already owned the land – previously had the chance to secure the site, but decided not to take the option because of the high purchase price requested by the organization that held the lease prior to Charter Land.
“We had some parcels there that we still retained, so the board wanted to obtain this land back from Charter Land so that we can connect the parcels that we have, and have a large parcel for future use,” Norton said. “So we have secured that, and we appreciate the assistance from Charter Land to get that lease back.
“Some of the board members know that several years ago, we had the opportunity to try to buy the property, but what we paid now is probably a third or a quarter of what the prior owner wanted to sell their interest to us for. So we were pleased with that, and that gives us real opportunities in the future for that type of land.”
Norton said the land is especially desirable because of its access to U.S. 98.
“There’s a marine place there that’s got about 3 acres in the front, and our access is right to the side of it, and then it goes back on that hill,” he said. “So it’s a lot of good high ground. It’s going to be nice one day.”
District superintendent Tess Smith said although officials don’t have any specific plans for the land at this time, she is glad the district was able to take advantage of the opportunity to purchase the site.
“It was just a great opportunity for us at the time,” she said.
Sixteenth-section land is leased by school districts to raise public education funds. The land can be partitioned and classified for uses including agriculture, forestry, farming, recreational, residential or industrial.
The Mississippi Secretary of State’s office serves as supervisory trustee for the lands, overseeing the management and leasing of more than 640,000 acres of 16th-section public school trust lands by 101 local school districts.
The Secretary of State and the Mississippi Forestry Commission work cooperatively with the local school districts to manage their timberlands.
