FILE:  DFJ

 

LEASE OF SCHOOL LANDS

 

 

The Acadia Parish School Board may execute a lease of any of its school land.  Leases for the production and removal of minerals granted by or on behalf of the School Board shall provide for a minimum of royalties of one-sixth on all oil and gas, sulphur, potash, and other minerals produced and saved and five percent on lignite and salt.  All mineral leases shall be advertised, received, opened and accepted/rejected by the School Board.  The School Board may reject any and all bids that may be submitted or may lease a lesser quantity of property than advertised and withdraw the rest.

 

Leases for the purposes of trapping, grazing, hunting or any other legitimate purposes other than for removal of oil, gas, or other minerals, may be executed on such terms and conditions as are in the best interest of the School Board and in compliance with state law.  Such leases shall be awarded only after formal advertisement for and receipt of bids as set forth by state law.

 

The School Board shall require all appropriate leases, as determined by the School Board's legal adviser, to include the purchase of appropriate liability insurance by the individual or organization leasing the property, which shall hold the School Board free from any liability that may result directly or indirectly from the leased property's usage.

 

AGRICULTURAL LEASES

 

  1. All agricultural leases shall be effective December 1 of the year in which the lease is granted and shall run for a period of five (5) years.  The Acadia Parish School Board reserves the right to annul a contract at any time during the five-year period if the farming operation is not carried out in a satisfactory manner.

  2. The tenant farmer shall operate the farm personally and in no case is the farmer to sublease the land.  If, after the signing of the contract, the tenant becomes unable to farm the land personally, then the tenant shall report this to the Acadia Parish School Board and forfeit the contract.  The School Board shall have the right to select another tenant to farm the land, executing a new contract.

  3. When a tract of School Board land becomes available for leasing, public notice will be given through publication in the local newspapers three (3) times over a period of thirty (30) days.  The applicants will present to the School Board for consideration written resumes of their current farm operations including a five-year production report.

    The School Board will not accept bids for agricultural leasing of the School Board property but will select from the applicants who have presented resumes.

  4. The Acadia Parish School Board shall receive as rental one-sixth (1/6) of all crops produced on each tract of land.  The rice acreage will be planted according to the allotted acreage permitted by Farm Service Agency (F.S.A.) each year.

 

  1. The tenant farmer will have the option to decide annually whether or not to plant soybeans or other crops in rotation with rice.  In the event no crop is planted in a given year, the farmer shall keep the acreage in condition suitable for planting crops the following year.

  2. All expenses in connection with the farming operation such as fertilizer, agricultural chemicals, fencing, building, improvements, harvesting, insurance, and storage shall be borne by the tenant farmer without cost to the Acadia Parish School Board.  The School Board shall pay one-sixth (1/6) of the cost of drying for rice and soybeans.

  3. Second crops of rice may be harvested on School Board property provided the first crop graded out to be a #1 or #2 rice free of indigo and other injurious weeds.  The School Board share of second crop rice will be one-sixth (1/6) of that crop.

  4. All land not suitable for crops (i.e., woodland, marshland) but used for haying or pasture will be rented at ten dollars ($10.00) per acre.  All lands put into crawfish cultivation will be cash rented to the tenant for fifty dollars ($50.00) per acre.

 

  1. The Acadia Parish School Board expects the tenant farmer to land level (dry or water) all lands under this contract at the tenant's expense to be completed within five (5) years and approved by the Soil Conservation Department.

 

  1. At no time shall soil be removed or allowed to be removed from School Board lands unless approved by the Acadia Parish School Board and supervised by a School Board representative.

  2. No part of School Board land is to be planted in rice two years in succession and all attempts must be made to keep the entire tract free of maturing red rice, indigo, and other injurious weeds.

 

  1. The Acadia Parish School Board will pay one-fifth (1/5) of the cost of any and all drainage ditches on School Board property.  The drainage areas and the sizes and types of ditches are to be recommended by the Soil Conservation Department.

    The Acadia Parish School Board agrees to pay twenty-five percent (25%) of the tenant's cost of pipe-drop installation, the necessity of the pipe-drops to be determined and recommended by the Soil Conservation Department.  Pipe-drop installations shall be permanent and shall become the property of the School Board.

  2. The tenant farmer shall keep a copy of the hauling receipts for each load of rice, soybeans, milo, or other crops to the dryer, mill, or elevator and shall present these receipts to the Acadia Parish School Board Office immediately after each field or said crop is harvested.

  3. The tenant farmer leasing Acadia Parish School Board property receives the hunting rights along with the planting rights.  The tenant has control over the hunting rights.

 

GEOPHYSICAL OR SEISMIC SURVEY PERMITS

 

The School Board may grant permission for geophysical or seismic surveys to be conducted on School Board property.  For the privilege of conducting seismograph exploration over and across lands owned by the School Board, application must be submitted to the School Board seeking permission to conduct surveys.  If said application is approved by the School Board, the applicant shall be permitted to conduct its seismographic operations in accordance with terms and conditions set forth in the permit agreement for a minimum fee as set by the School Board.  All applications shall contain pertinent information to adequately evaluate the proposed survey.

 

RIGHTS-OF-WAY

 

The Acadia Parish School Board may grant rights-of-way on school lands upon formal written request.  No application for a right-of-way shall be considered unless certificate of publication of due notice is on file in the office of the School Board, showing advertisement of the pending application has been made two times within ten (10) days in the official journal of the parish wherein the school lands are situated.  A fee may be charged for such privilege.

 

SIXTEENTH SECTION LANDS

 

Leasing of Sixteenth Section lands shall be handled as follows:

 

  1. The School Board, upon determining to lease any Sixteenth Section lands, shall publish an advertisement in the official journal of the district where the land is located setting forth a description of the land to be leased, the time when bids will be received, and a short summary of the terms, conditions, and purposes of the lease to be executed.  If the lands are situated in two (2) or more parishes, the advertisement shall appear in the official journals of all parishes in which the lands are located.  The advertisement shall be published for a period of not less than fifteen (15) days and at least once a week during three (3) consecutive weeks.  The School Board may also send notices to those whom it may think would be interested in submitting bids for the leases.

  2. Bids must be enclosed and sealed in the self-addressed return envelope furnished by the School Board for that purpose, or a facsimile thereof, and forwarded through the United States mail.  Bids may also be hand delivered to the School Board office.

  3. Bids shall be accompanied by a minimum deposit in an amount equal to 10% of the bid but not less than $100.00 or such larger amounts as may be required by state law, and this deposit shall be in the form of cash or a certified check made payable to the Acadia Parish School Board.

  4. Acceptance or Rejection of Bids Handled Through the State Mineral Board

    When through adoption of the appropriate resolution whereby the School Board authorizes and directs the State Mineral Board to handle the leasing of Section 16 lands, the President of the School Board and the Superintendent, or in their absence, their designee, shall have the authority to accept or reject all bids on Section 16 Lands handled through the State Mineral Board.

 

Revised:  November 5, 2018

 

 

Ref:    Constitution of Louisiana, Art. VII, Sec. 4(c), Art. IX, Sec. 4(b)

La. Rev. Stat. Ann. §§17:87, 17:87.1, 17:87.2, 17:87.3, 17:87.8, 30:121, 30:122, 30:123, 30:124, 30:125, 30:126, 30:127, 30:127.1, 30:128, 30:129, 30:129.1, 30:151, 30:152, 30:153, 30:154, 30:155, 30:156, 41:1211, 41:1212, 41:1213, 41:1214, 41:1215, 41:1215.1, 41:1216, 41:1217, 41:1218, 41:1219, 41:1220, 41:1221, 41:1222, 41:1223, 41:1224

Board minutes, 6-6-94, 3-13-00, 8-1-00, 11-5-18

 

Acadia Parish School Board