Profiting from the taxpayers pocket

SAS leader Jim Goodnight says he will give profits made on a Wake County land sale back to taxpayers. Many think the land sale hints that there was "insider knowledge" that the Wake County school board would buy the land for a new school on the site. Interestingly enough Goodnight publicly advocated supporting the record $970 million school construction bond issue approved by voters in November and even asked all of his company employees to support the bond issue.

So... just how do you give profits back to taxpayers? In reality none of us will ever get a cent from Mr. Goodnight if he pulls this off. He might make a donation to some community cause or build another soccer field or take some other step to get a big tax break but taxpayers won't get anything.

Read the complete article...

News and Observer
February 23, 2007
Michael Biesecker, Staff Writer

Goodnight plans to donate profit
Any profit from a land sale to Wake schools would go to taxpayers

RALEIGH - Software mogul Jim Goodnight will return to taxpayers whatever profit he might gain from a proposed $8.7 million land deal with Wake County, according to his development partner.

Tim Smith, president of Preston Development Co., said Thursday that Goodnight had no direct knowledge of the proposed sale of 108.4 acres of land off Humie Olive Road in Apex for a new high school and middle school.

Apex Olive LLC, a company in which Goodnight is a financial backer, bought the land April 28 for $3.25 million. The current county tax value of the undeveloped tract, which had previously been owned by a local family for decades, is $794,180.

The Wake County school board voted Feb. 6 to buy the land for $8.7 million -- a 168 percent jump from what was paid for the tract just 10 months ago. The purchase will not be final until it is approved by the Wake County Board of Commissioners, which is expected to take up the issue in April. Read more...