CAMDEN — Preble Shawnee Local Schools Board of Education on Tuesday, Oct. 8, again discussed the potential sale of the West Elkton Elementary School property, which was set to go up for auction earlier this week.
“We have now posted the sale of West Elton for three straight weeks. October 24 is the auction we at one time, had a couple interested in buying and renovating it into housing; they have now withdrawn that because of the property tax being so high, so they are no longer interested in the purchase of the property,” Superintendent Todd Bowling told the board.
“So as of now, I’ve had no one reach out to me and inquire about property or show any interest,” Bowling added. “I’ve also let the Village of West Elkton know that and let them know what we have. So, if they know of anything, they can let us know.”
“We still have no community schools or charter schools within the area that have any interest, because that’s the first place we have to offer to. I did have a request from the new superintendent the Preble County ESC about the possibility of the building, because the building they currently have kids in is an old Eaton Elementary School District building, and it’s just not holding up like they thought it would. This West Elton building is not in any better shape than that, so he is no longer interested either,” he continued.
“If nobody shows any interest, the property remains ours, and the only thing we could look at then is I have had inquiries if people could use it for storage, if they could use it for other things besides what we would sell it for. West Elkton communicated with us that they’d like it to be for housing and other things, or a community center. But if it doesn’t happen, then we need to revisit what we could sell it for and redefine what the property can be used for. We also have on the back burner, I’ve been told by the county commissioners, it’s about two to three years behind, is they have funding from the federal government that will pay school districts in Preble County to tear down old buildings, so they don’t become eyesores, they don’t become junkyards or storage places. So that’s the only other thing we have out there. So, we would have to bring it back to the table, see if we want to change what it can be used for. And then you can put it back up for sale.”
“The big thing for the folks who were interested in it is they found that they would face a $32,000 yearly tax bill to own the property. They tried to negotiate that with Preble County Auditor’s office, but there is no negotiation for that piece of it, because it’s property tax,” Bowling told the board.
Bowling also brought up in his report the trouble schools are having getting officials for athletic events.
“I just wanted to bring to your attention and the public’s attention that there is trouble getting officials for athletic events, especially varsity. So we have had to reschedule two varsity football games (one) moved to Thursday, October 10, and then the last game of the year will be moved to a Saturday night game. I just didn’t want people to think we were changing it for just any reason. It has nothing to do with the field. It’s just lack of officials.”
In other business, the board also heard from a district resident questioning the new cell phone policy, and restrictions placed on backpacks, as well as the district’s safety rating. Board members encouraged the resident to contact school administrators and advised the board would follow up on his concerns.
•The treasurer’s report showed that property tax income is ahead of plan, while state funds are in line.
•Donations included $100 for sixth-grade camp and $3,000 in school supplies.
•Personnel changes included adding an intervention specialist for preschool due to a shortage of certified staff.
•Bowling proposed a board work session in November, due to conflicts with other meeting times. He noted, he would also like to circle back around to the West Elkton building discussion at the work session depending on the outcome of last week’s auction.
Reach Eddie Mowen Jr. at 937-683-4061 and follow on X @emowenjr.
