HOWARD – East Knox schools plan to place a levy on the November ballot. The school district on Wednesday responded to questions about the former Bladensburg school building on Facebook saying “Our student enrollment has declined to the point that the Bladensburg School will not re-open without some sudden influx of 500 students. The School Board separated the property parcels in order to retain ownership of the ball fields and majority of the adjoining parking lot for use by our community and most importantly, our children. The remainder of the property encompassing the building was placed at public auction in March according to Ohio law. There was not a single, legitimate bidder for the property. The property may now be sold privately or demolished.
The Board authorized the Superintendent and/or Treasurer to seek bids for the demolition of the building. In the meantime, several members of the Knox County Chamber of Commerce toured the building on July 11th. Wouldn’t it be wonderful for a business to buy the building and create local jobs? An estimate of approximately $125,000 to remove asbestos from parts of the building may be an impediment to purchase by a company or individual of the property. Although the Board started the cumbersome process of demolishing the building, we are nowhere near a final decision to actually proceed. The Board will follow the law and either approve the sale or demolition of the building in open, public meeting when that time arrives. The decision will not be dependent on whether or not the November levy passes. That time has come and gone.
Our Board and Administration is doing our best to ensure the survival of the District while providing quality educational opportunities for our students. Over 60% of our teaching positions are now staffed by new employees since Summer, 2012 (we’ve lost another teacher since I penned the above letter). East Knox voters need to pass an operating levy. The first since 1984. We will not use the Bladensburg property as a political pawn in an attempt to get “yes” votes knowing in full conscience that the building will not re-open in the future.
