Agricultural News
Oklahoma's Commissioners of the Land Office Announce 2019 School Land Lease Auction Dates
Mon, 23 Sep 2019 12:35:33 CDT
Coming up next month, the Oklahoma Commissioners of the Land Office will begin hosting its annual land auctions benefitting the state's public education system. The CLO's administrator, Acting Secretary Brandt Vawter, stopped by the Radio Oklahoma Ag Network studios recently to visit with Associate Farm Director Carson Horn about these upcoming auctions, how they came about and how they benefit Oklahomans. You can listen to their complete recorded conversation, by clicking or tapping the LISTEN BAR below at the bottom of the page.
According to Vawter, the concept itself, goes back even further than statehood. He recalls President Thomas Jefferson conceptualized the idea to establish a federal government program that granted states large tracks of land to be managed for the financial benefit of their respective public education systems. Oklahoma has done just that with the land granted by the federal government ever since the state was established.
Vawter says Oklahoma has been a successful steward of its school land, having built upon the original grant which over time in the form of a permanent trust fund which has accumulated approximately $2.5 billion. Vawter reports that during the last fiscal year these auctions generated over $131 million for K-12 systems in Oklahoma as well as the state's higher education institutes.
This year, 510 tracts of the state-owned land, or about 115,000 acres, will be up for auction across 32 counties. The first of nine auctions will take place on October 14, 2019 and the final one on October 29th. All tracks of land are leased by live public auction in accordance to the State Constitution and for a period of five years.
For more information and the complete details on all the tracks of land up for auction this year, be sure to check out the CLO's website, at clo.ok.gov or click over to our calendar page for a complete listing of this year's auction dates, times and locations.
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