ADAMS TWP — A Middlesex Township woman questioned the Mars School Board on Tuesday night about the sale of a former school.

Brenda Henwood, a potential buyer of the building, asked the board why it has not made the appraisal report of the former Middlesex Township Elementary School available to the potential bidders.

The board told her to discuss the matter with district solicitor Tom King.

On Wednesday, King said the board decided not to divulge the appraisal amount so the district can get the highest price for the property, which is on Browns Hill Road.

“If we turn the appraisal out, we feel it’s going to drive the bidding,” King said.

He said potential buyers could bid more than the appraisal amount, and listing that amount could limit the district’s ability to maximize its return.

“We don’t want to show our hand,” King said. “We want people to bid what they think it’s worth.”

Henwood said she is not sure if she will bid on the property. She would not say what she would use the building for.

But she said, “I think (the school board) needs to be more transparent if they really want to sell.”

The 5.5-acre site was advertised for bids in August. Bids are being accepted until Nov. 6.

According to the bid advertisement, the school district bought the property in 1979. It was the Middlesex Township Elementary School until 2004, when it was closed, and its 149 students and seven teachers were reassigned to other Mars buildings.

The building was constructed in 1911 as a high school before the Mars district was formed.

The district’s special education and pupil services departments, plus other educational entities leasing space, have been housed in the former school in recent years.