(a) All tracts of land set apart for school or other purposes and donated to the state by the United States Congress for a specific purpose and sold under the authority of the laws of this state to any person shall be subject to taxation as other land in this state immediately after sale. These lands shall not be sold for taxes until the purchase money shall be fully paid, but shall be returned delinquent as other lands, and the personal property of the purchaser shall be subject to sale to pay the taxes thereon.
(b) Until the payment of taxes or the collection thereof from the personal property, these lands shall be continued on the tax books and the taxes of each year charged thereon and added to the tax and penalty due when they became delinquent until payment is made or the lands are resold by the proper officer or authority pursuant to the laws in force for the sale of these lands.