District ignored property's problems

[TexasStooge]

By Jennifer Autrey and Yamil Berard , StarTelegram Staff Writers

Fort Worth school officials failed to take crucial steps to protect the district's interests when it bought an aging printing plant to be used as an elementary school, a Star-Telegram examination found.

They didn't commission an independent appraisal of the Motheral Printing plant, for which the district spent $3.6 million. They relied on a real estate agent who later came to represent the seller. They overlooked problems with the site that could have allowed the district to negotiate a lower price.