By Colin McEwen
Record-Courier staff writer
East Elementary School in Windham, completely renovated in 2000 using state school construction funds, will be auctioned off by the end of the year because the district no longer can afford to maintain it.
The one-time model for state school construction funding is now the home to weeds and vandals.
Most of the windows and doors are boarded up. Exterior light fixtures have been ripped out, and black, profanity-laced graffiti litters the red brick.
Vacant since 2007, the school has been costing the district money in the form of insurance, maintenance and utilities, Superintendent Carol Kropinak said.
“The elimination of that building is part of our plan to reduce our expenditures,” she said. “The state understands that we have a facility that’s costing us money and is not needed at this time.”
After an hour-long closed session, Board of Education members at a special meeting Wednesday approved the auction, with no exact timeline planned.
Board member Melissa Roubic was the only dissenting vote, noting that she approved of the sale, but not the auction.
“I think we have an obligation to the community to market this to businesses before we proceed to auction,” she argued. “We want a business to come in there and bring in jobs.”
East Elementary was part of a $28 million districtwide project, funded by the Ohio School Facilities Commission, to renovate or replace Windham schools. The state picked up $27 million of the cost.
Originally constructed in 1959, East Elementary closed its doors to Windham students five years ago, but housed the Portage County Educational Services Center from 2005 to 2007.
The one-time model for state school construction funding is now the home to weeds and vandals.
Most of the windows and doors are boarded up. Exterior light fixtures have been ripped out, and black, profanity-laced graffiti litters the red brick.
The district has been in a steady decline of enrollment, decreasing the need for an additional school, Kropinak said. Since the school was renovated nine years ago the district has gone from more than 1,000 students to 780.
When the district closed East in 2004, fourth- and fifth-grade students were moved to Katherine Thomas Elementary School — which also benefited from the state funds in 2000 with a completely new building. The sixth grade students moved to the junior high school.
Should there be an influx of students — from say, job creation at the Ravenna Arsenal — Kropinak said the district would still have plenty of space.
“We have room at the high school and junior high,” she said. “So could we absorb more students? Yeah. If we grow exponentially, that would be a different ballgame.”
Among possible tenants, Kropinak said an educational facility for a college or police training academy would be ideal. She added that before an auction can be held, the land must be surveyed and the zoning code examined.
Windham Township resident and former school board member Dick Viebranz attended the meeting to see that “they get something” for the school.
“I don’t think it’s a good time to sell,” he said. “The economy is just not good right now. Very few businesses are making a profit.”