When he goes to Sacramento today(6/27), Morongo Unified School District Superintendent Tom Baumgarten hopes to end a long-simmering ownership dispute between the State of California and the school district regarding the old Joshua Tree Elementary school property. In August of 2008, a previously undiscovered earthquake fault forced the district to close the old school. A new elementary school was built in Joshua Tree and opened in May of 2013. Now, the old elementary school property sits vacant due to an ownership dispute between MUSD and the state. According to Baumgarten, the new school cost an estimated $19 million to construct. Since the state provided approximately five million of those dollars, the state laid claim to ownership of the old property once the school officially closed. MUSD disputed the State’s claim of ownership to the property. If the property is awarded to MUSD, there are plans to either use the building for non-student activities or to auction off the property. A final ruling on property ownership is expected to be made today by the State Allocations Board in Sacramento.
