Amidst much discussion, Northridge board okays Alexandria Primary demolition

ALEXANDRIA ― On Monday night, the Northridge Board of Education okayed the demolition of the old Alexandria Primary School, but not before some district residents expressed their disapproval.

The building, constructed in 1923 with a 1955 addition, sat vacant last school year after a new pre-k-fifth grade elementary opened near Northridge High School and middle school, following the approval of a bond issue in 2019. The Excellence in Learning Community Co-op (ELCC), a Licking County home school group, had wanted to lease the building from either the district, Alexandria or St. Albans Township and make it a community center. But in the end, the district thought it more financially prudent to raze the structure, retaining the land for future use.

"We were advised to hold onto the property, with future growth from Intel coming," said assistant superintendent Dr. Kristine Michael, sitting in for superintendent Scott Schmidt who was out of town and unable to attend. "The Licking County auditor assessed it and recommended we hold it, and I fully trust his word," added board president Doug Hart.

Three resolutions were passed on a 4-1 vote: authorizing the demolition of the school property, approving the $81,217 pre-construction contract for demolition with Robertson Construction, and authorizing approval of the contract with Robertson not to exceed $258,775 ($247,925 for demolition and $10, 850 in owner contingency). That made the total for the project around $340,000.

"The (board) finance committee said if we dropped it to $340,000, they would support it," district treasurer Britt Lewis said. "The pre-construction contract was originally budgeted for $102,000 and we got it down to $81,000. It was $92,000 for Homer (school)."

Hart, vice president Jayma Bammerlin, Kate Creager and Geoff Wiggins voted for the demolition. Jeff Schrock was the lone dissenter, and he had his reasons. "For what purpose are we going to use the land for?" he said. "We could save taxpayer dollars by turning it over the group of people (ELCC) who want to buy it. People are tired of seeing the vacant lot at Homer."

"The finance committee determined that we were paying $31,000 to $38,000 for utilities, just to keep it (Alexandria) from completely falling down," Lewis said. "I've had zero calls (in recent years) about (purchasing) Homer."

"If a viable proposal came forward (for Alexandria), we would have considered it," Hart said. "But the proposal as presented did not come close to being viable." The building had also been looked at by the Licking County Family YMCA and the Licking County Aging Program, but they weren't interested.

ELCC, with board president Amanda Sillin and her husband, moderator Drason Sillin, and other ELCC members had twice toured the school. ELCC had previously reconstructed the old Conrad School in Newark, built in 1906, using donated labor from Co-Op members, and have been in the building since 2018. They have gone from 200-250 students to 350 last year, have had to go to a waiting list for the first time, and are looking to expand. Students come from all around Licking County, plus Franklin, Knox, Fairfield, Muskingum, Coshocton and Perry counties. The larger building with a gym was appealing to them.

Dean Schiller, advocate for ELCC, argued that on a third tour, the group could have brought in its experts for a better assessment. "We were denied a third tour, after which we could have made a viable offer," he said.

"They're over-run right now and they need that building. And we've turned our back on them," said Jendell Duffner, a parent from the district. "It was my desire, and many others' desire, to keep the school for another school. I feel like no one in the community was really listened to, about keeping the building, and they (ELCC) have been shoved aside. It's the district's responsibility to turn it over to another school who wants to educate children. Now, we're in the same position as Homer. It's not a full demolition. They're only going down to 18 inches, so they would have to build on top of that. So similar to Homer."

Wiggins admitted his yes vote for the demolition was "a heart-wrenching decision."

"I live in Liberty Township and have very close ties to Alexandria," he said. "It (the building) is an important part of the community. I struggled with, 'Is this the right thing to do?' At no point was the building ever up for sale. But I also have to consider the finances of the district, which covers 137 square miles, and think about the area outside of Alexandria, the entire Northridge community."

Lewis said he and Schmidt have discussed keeping the soccer field and the practice fields there for the youth association, and continuing to use them.

During an interview earlier this summer, Amanda Sillin had envisioned the building becoming a community center for Alexandria, housing not only their once-a-week school, but village offices, GED reading programs and exercise programs for seniors. "Whatever works best for the community, because it belongs to the community," Drason Sillin said. "It could be a great meeting place, a community hub," added Schiller.

"We were looking at planting there and Lancaster, and we already have one in Zanesville and one in Coshocton," Amanda said. "If we don't grow there, we'll grow somewhere else. It's in God's hands."

dweidig@gannettt.com

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This article originally appeared on Newark Advocate: Northridge school board okays demolition of Alexandria Elementary