COEUR D'ALENE JUNCTION, Idaho — The Idaho Department of Lands held an auction in Coeur d'Alene for 8 Priest Lake lots of land worth millions of dollars on Saturday morning.
IDL says the lots were owned by the Public School Endowment beneficiary and the funds from the auction will go into Idaho public schools.
Paul Myers and his partner, Meg Roland, sought to buy one of the Priest Lake lots where Myers says he has leased a family cabin for decades.
"I've had that place for 25 years," said Myers. "Brought my children up there and everything."
The IDL Real Estate Bureau Chief, Roger Hall, says the millions of dollars raised through the sale of the lots will live in a "Land Bank" that can be used to buy other unpurchased land or go toward the endowment beneficiaries.
"Back in 2012, the Land Board made the decision to unify the estate on our cottage program," said Hall. "It's a great opportunity for both the cabin owners and for the students to buy pencils and books."
For people like Myers, they get the chance to own what they have only been leasing.
Myers said he is excited to know that his money is going to a good cause and believes that funding for education in Idaho is something that needs to grow.
"Idaho does need to support its schools through taxes and proper policies, not necessarily through land sales," said Myers.
The IDL said after the auction that it generated $11,404,720, which is $526,000 more than what they expected to see.
IDL says four people purchased land that they were already leasing and four others were new buyers and will pay the current lessee the appraised value of the personal property on the land.