This bill creates a new section in chapter 28A.335 RCW and amends RCW 28A.335.120 and RCW 28A.335.130. The new section allows a school district board to request authorization from the Superintendent of Public Instruction to sell district real property when the district’s estimated ending fund balance for the fiscal year is three percent or less of estimated total revenues. The superintendent may approve only if the district shows the sale is necessary to restore financial stability, prevent adverse effects on student learning, and that proceeds will be used solely to address the financial burdens that caused or significantly contributed to the district’s insolvency. The Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) must adopt implementing rules to ensure transparency and verify that sale proceeds are used consistent with the authorization, and rules must bar a district from receiving such an authorization more than once in a five-year period. The new section does not exempt districts from complying with RCW 8.16.170 for property acquired by condemnation. The changes to RCW 28A.335.120 set procedures and limits for selling district real property no longer required for school purposes, including property sold under the new authorization or by a financial oversight committee. For proposed sales over $70,000 the board must publish notice in a legal newspaper for two consecutive weeks, hold a public hearing, and wait at least 45 days after the newspaper notice before selling surplus property. Private schools may bid like other bidders. Sales must be preceded by a market value appraisal by a certified appraiser selected by the board; sales may not be below 90 percent of appraisal value unless a property has been on the market for one year or more, in which case a reappraisal and unanimous board consent may allow sale at no less than 75 percent of reappraised value. The bill permits licensed brokers (with fees capped at 7 percent for a single parcel), allows real estate sales contracts when appropriate, and prohibits an appraiser selected by the board from being a party to a contract to sell that parcel for three years after the appraisal. The amendment to RCW 28A.335.130 requires proceeds from school district real property sales to be deposited into the debt service fund and/or capital projects fund, except for specified allowances: costs of sale, amounts authorized by a financial oversight committee under RCW 28A.315.221, amounts provided in RCW 28A.335.240(1), amounts provided in RCW 28A.335.135, or amounts provided in the new section. Affected entities include OSPI, district boards, financial oversight committees, private schools, certified appraisers, and licensed brokers. The extracted facts do not include the text of RCW 28A.335.135, RCW 28A.335.240(1), the provisions governing financial oversight committees in RCW 28A.315.221, the content of RCW 8.16.170, or the OSPI rules to be adopted, so those details are uncertain from the provided material. No changes to criminal penalties are described in the extracted facts.

If put into effect, the bill gives school boards a new, limited way to raise cash by selling district land when a district’s projected year‑end balance is very low (3% or less of revenues), but the sale requires OSPI approval that it is needed to restore financial stability and protect student learning. It also tightens how districts sell surplus property in general: higher‑value sales need public notice and a hearing, sales must be preceded by a professional appraisal with minimum price rules (not below 90% of appraisal unless reappraised after a year and sold unanimously at no less than 75%), broker commissions are capped at 7%, and private schools may bid like anyone else. Most sale proceeds must go into the district’s debt service or capital projects funds, with only a few statutory exceptions. The people most affected are financially stressed school districts (who gain a possible but constrained option to cover shortfalls), the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (which must write and enforce rules and will decide approvals), and appraisers and brokers (who will get work but face selection and fee limits). Districts will face added time, appraisal and transaction costs, public hearing requirements, and limited flexibility in how they can use proceeds, and they risk OSPI denying authorization; important details about related statutes and the new OSPI rules are not included here, so implementation specifics remain uncertain.