Washington State

Office of the Attorney General

Attorney General

Bob Ferguson

AGO 1956 NO. 211 >

1. The board of directors of a first class school district is authorized to purchase and hold either real or personal property without a vote of the district electors and may purchase options to purchase real estate if it has provided for such expenditures in its budget.  The board of directors of a second class school district is authorized to purchase real estate contiguous to a school site upon which a schoolhouse is situated by unanimous vote of the board, but to purchase real estate non-contiguous [[noncontiguous]] requires a vote of the majority of the electors of the district, and the board of directors of a third class school district is authorized to purchase additional sites either contiguous or non-contiguous [[noncontiguous]] only when authorized by a majority of the vote of the electors of the district.  2. There is no statutory limitation on the time for which an option to purchase real estate may run.