Ark. Code Ann. » Title 6 Chapter 13
Arkansas Code Annotated

Ark. Code Ann. § 6-13-103 (2026)

Power of eminent domain — Repurchase by former owner

✓ current as of May 2026
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  1. All school districts in the state are granted the power of eminent domain and may take and use private property for the use of the school district for school purposes, and school purposes shall include a site for a schoolhouse, necessary playground and athletic fields, stadiums, libraries, and other necessary uses incidental to the maintenance of schools and the welfare of teachers and pupils.
  2. If the owners of property desired to be acquired by the board of directors of any school district shall not agree on the price, the board of directors of the school district may exercise the right of eminent domain, after the same procedure as is provided by law for municipal corporations and counties, and no advance deposit of money shall be required unless the school district desires immediate possession of the property to be condemned, before a hearing can be held fixing the value thereof; and after the verdict of the jury finding the damage to the owner of the property in such proceedings, the school district shall have the right to take the property at the value found or abandon the proceedings to condemn it for one (1) year.
      1. When any public school is closed and any of the real property acquired for or used by the school was acquired by the exercise of the power of eminent domain, the person who owned the property at the time it was taken by eminent domain, or his or her successor in interest, shall be entitled to repurchase that portion of the property on which no capital improvements are located from the school district for the amount or proportional amount the school district paid for the property if the school district acquired the property by the power of eminent domain within the last fifteen (15) years.
      2. If the property was acquired by the school district more than fifteen (15) years before the closing of the school, the previous owner shall be entitled to repurchase the property from the school district at fair market value.
    2. Any person who has the option to repurchase property from a school district under subdivision (c)(1) of this section shall notify the school district of its desire to repurchase the property and exercise the option within one (1) year after the school is closed, and not thereafter.

History. Acts 1931, No. 169, § 58; Pope's Dig., § 11491; A.S.A. 1947, § 80-403; Acts 1991, No. 363, §§ 1, 2.

Case Notes

Compensation.

The owner of lands which were condemned for school purposes was entitled to have his compensation from the time that the district filed its petition to condemn his land. School Dist. v. Smith, 113 Ark. 530, 168 S.W. 1089 (1914) (decision under prior law).

Possession.

Where a school district had condemned lands, the right to the possession of the property became absolute in the district upon the payment of the compensation into court as prescribed by the statute, and when the order of court was made, vesting title in the district, it related back to the date of the filing of the petition for condemnation. School Dist. v. Smith, 113 Ark. 530, 168 S.W. 1089 (1914) (decision under prior law).

Cited: Burton v. Ward, 218 Ark. 253, 236 S.W.2d 65 (1951); Little Rock Sch. Dist. v. Ark. State Bd. of Educ., 902 F.2d 1289 (8th Cir. 1990).

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 1 case, 2000–2000 · leading case: South Portland Assocs. v. City of South Portland, 746 A.2d 365 (Me. 2000).
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South Portland Assocs. v. City of South Portland, 746 A.2d 365 (Me. 2000). “§ 498 -A:12 (1988) (providing right of former owner to repurchase property if abandoned within 10 years of condemnation); Ark. Code Ann. § 6-13-103 (Michie 1991) (permitting former landowner to repurchase condemned property within one year of a subsequent abandonment by the…”
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