Northern NV middle school sale nets $3.525 million

STATELINE, Nev. — Nearly a decade after it closed, Kingsbury Middle School no longer belongs to Douglas County’s taxpayers.

The $3.525 million sale to Mountain Metro Church closed June 22, according to the Douglas County Recorder’s Office.

The sale will permit the school district to move ahead with several safety and capital projects needs in the upcoming months, Superintendent Teri White said.

The school closed in 2008 due to declining Douglas County enrollment at Lake Tahoe and had been on the market since 2012.

The new owner plans to develop a Christian-based center for young people ages 5-23.

In January, the company was the high bidder for the school. A second offer came from California-based Vintage Housing Inc., who bid $3.5 million.

Pioneer Mountain is owned by Kirsten Vliet Cirne, according to Tahoe City Realtor Katie Foster, who is representing the purchaser.

Cirne is the wife of Silicon Valley entrepreneur Lewis Karl Cirne, who owns a cabin at Lake Tahoe.

It took four years on the market before the first offer was received on the property in July 2016. But Lake Parkway’s offer of $3.15 million fell through in 2017.

In December 2017, the school board put the school on the market for $3.45 million. Under Nevada law, public property must be sold at the appraised price or higher.

The school was built in 1976 for $1.6 million, when Douglas County’s portion of Lake Tahoe was growing rapidly.

The school property was originally put up for $4 million and didn’t receive any offers until Lake Parkway in 2015.

Other Tahoe-Douglas schools, Whittell High and Zephyr Cove Elementary remain open.