It is that time of year again when the Commissioners of the Land Office will be auctioning off five-year term leases to parcels of school land around the state to benefit public education in Oklahoma. Farm Director Ron Hays met with Harry Birdwell, secretary of the Commissioners of the Land Office, this week to get a feel for how these auctions have been working out for the Land Office and what potential bidders can expect this year. Birdwell says that the Land Office currently manages roughly 750,000 surface acres and about 1.3 million mineral acres. One fifth of that total will be up for auction this year.
“We do have quite a lot of land in the state of Oklahoma,” Birdwell said. “This year those auctions will be held beginning October 17th and ending November 1st. All the proceeds from cropland and grazing land and recreational land in 43 counties in Oklahoma go for the benefit of K-12 and higher education in the state.”
According to Sec. Birdwell, live auctions will take place this fall at nine different locations throughout the state, where a total 570 tracks of land will be up for lease, most of which are quarter sections. Birdwell directs those potentially interested in bidding to the Land Office’s website where details on all lots can be viewed.
If you are interested in bidding, you may get lucky and find a steal, but don’t expect to pay anything less than fair market value. Birdwell says that despite sluggish economies in the agriculture and energy sectors, the income generated from school lands under his and the commissioners’ oversight, continues to trend upward.
“And I’m proud of that. When Gov. Mary Fallin became governor six years ago, the School Land Commission had $1.6 billion in vested funds. We now have $2.3 billion,” Birdwell said, attributing the growth to wise investments and management of the state lands. “We’ve done several things that enhance the generation of income from investment in commercial assets and development of commercial properties throughout the state.”
Over the last five years, distributions to beneficiaries have increased in the order of 44 percent Birdwell says. That is greater than any other period reported in the state’s history - which is great news for Oklahoma’s public education system.
“For fiscal 2016 which was completed June 30th, we distributed $102.3 million to K-12 school districts in the state and $32 million to 13 higher education institutions in the state. And the distributions to K-12 were the highest in the history of the state.”
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