A Reminder of Fayette County’s “School Land” in North Texas
Fayette County Commissioners approved a five-year lease renewal for the Fayette County School Land in Baylor County, a 4,200-acre property held by the County for the benefit of public school students in Fayette County.
Way back in 1839, the Congress of the Republic of Texas appropriated thousands of acres of unsettled land to each of the counties then in existence. The financial proceeds of those lands were to be used to establish public schools in the counties.
Over the years, many counties sold their school lands. Fayette County kept its land and has leased it over the years. The County distributes the lease proceeds every year to the public schools in Fayette County. The proceeds are distributed equally per student to the La Grange, Schulenburg, Flatonia, Fayetteville and Round Top-Carmine ISDs.
Commissioners approved a lease renewal to the current lessees, Greg Smith and Cecil Tinney. They will pay $18 per acre for cattle grazing and recreational rights to the property. Tinney runs a cattle ranching operation on the property. Smith represents a group of 10 people who lease the property for hunting and recreation. The property is located about 100 miles north of Abilene and 60 miles southwest of Wichita Falls.
“It’s a little more arid, especially than down here,” Smith said. “For cow-calf per pair, it ranges from 25 acres per pair for rainy years and around 30 acres for dry years. There’s a lot of mesquite trees, a few juniper cedars, hackberry trees and cedar elms. There’s not very many live oak trees. Those start about 30 miles away.”
Pct. 2 Commissioner Luke Sternadel asked how the hunting group handles liability risks and access for guests. Smith said the hunting group carries an insurance policy. In addition, he said each member and their guests must sign a liability release form. In addition, he said the group strictly controls access to the property. He said all guests must be accompanied by a member.
“We have a lot of rules, and we’re rule followers,” Smith said. “That’s really important for the consistent and sustainable program that we’ve had.”
Smith and his partners proposed a lease payment of $18 per acre per year, amounting to $75,600 per year. They are currently paying $16 per year.
Pct. 1 Commissioner Jason McBroom said he checked lease rates with the Farm Service Agency and Extension Service offices in Baylor County.
“From the Farm Service Agency, the land for a cow-calf operation, the average was $6 to $10 per acre,” McBroom said. “The Extension Agent thought that was slightly low, just for the cattle. The hunting was $10 an acre. So you’re proposal is pretty close.”
McBroom said the County is required to pay property taxes on the property, which amounts to about $2,000 a year with the ag valuation. McBroom proposed lease terms that involved a $0.25 per acre increase each year of the lease.
“At the end of five years you’d be at $19, which is a very small percentage of increase,” he said. “At least it gets us up with inflation.”
Smith said he could not agree to McBroom’s proposal without meeting with his partners again. He said under the current arrangement, his group of hunters pay $10 an acre and Tinney pays $6 an acre for grazing rights. He said the hunters and Tinney each agreed to chip in a dollar per acre.
“Our proposal is already going up $2 an acre,” Smith said. “We know that is the going rate because there are two properties to the north of us where the hunters are paying $11 an acre.”
“I have no doubts y’all are good people,” McBroom said. “I’m just trying to get the best money for the kids. This is their land.”
Pct. 3 Commissioner Harvey Berckenhoff warned that the County could regret losing Smith and Tinney as lessees if they end up rejecting a costlier proposal, such as the one McBroom proposed.
“It happens here, people who lease land know, you lease it for 15 or 20 years, and someone moves in and offers you a dollar an acre more,” Berckenhoff said. “Then at the end you say, ‘Gosh I wish I would have kept that last guy I had.’
“We can see the conditions you have it in, the improvement you have made,” Berckenhoff added. “Jason is right, it’s not our money, it’s the kids’. But peace of mind is something.”
The vote was 4-1 with McBroom casting the dissenting vote.
“I’m just hanging on to that 25 cents,” McBroom told Smith. “Thank you for taking care of the property.”