Tentative sale reached for KCSM-TV

“The continual drain on the district resources in my opinion is unacceptable,” said Mohr. “And it is my opinion that the district needs to get focused on the centrality of the mission, which is teaching and learning and the delivery of curriculum.”

Should the tentative deal be approved by the board, it could close the book on a process which began in 2011 to sell KCSM-TV, under an effort to eliminate a nearly $1 million annual deficit. The district’s well-known jazz radio station, KCSM, is not part of the deal.

A new round of struggles were recently introduced for the station which was launched in 1964 and broadcasts a variety of programs, some of which were used for educational purposes before online courses came into favor.

Opposing lawsuits were filed in April between the district and LocusPoint Networks, a firm hired to help facilitate the acquisition, when the station was excluded from a $114 million auction sale.

LocusPoint Networks officials alleged district officials were to blame for not joining the final phase of the auction, per an agreement between the two parties, while district officials claim it was the firm’s fault.

The two sides have been mired in a legal conflict since, and Mohr said he is uncertain whether the court proceedings will adversely affect the potential pending sale.

Under an agreement struck nearly four years ago, the district and contractor had agreed the sum from any pending sale of the financially troubled station would be divvied up with LocusPoint Networks receiving 36.5 percent of the auction proceeds and the district keeping the rest.

As part of the deal, LocusPoint Networks offered the district payments to keep the station running. The company’s lawsuit alleges officials knew of the failure to participate in the auction last November but kept taking operation payments, amounting to a breach of contract. The legal battle continues and will be addressed in closed session prior to the public portion of the special meeting.

Mohr said the most recent deal was reached through a request for proposals by the district, and the tentative agreement accepts the most lucrative of the three viable bids.

As officials face the sale, Mohr said he believes the board should move ahead under an effort to remove the drain on resources which should otherwise be allocated to students and the community.

“You would be ridding yourself of a serious deficit,” he said of the deal’s completion.

austin@smdailyjournal.com

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