School Board Opens New Elementary School And Debates Future Of Old Elementary School Building
The Harrodsburg Herald/Austin Cocanougher
Members of RossTarrant Architects, Trace Creek Construction, Mercer County Board of Education and Mercer Staff joined in on the ribbon cutting for the new school. Left to right: VP Trace Creek Construction David Milam, Interior Designer RossTarrant Architects Natalie Haley, Associate/Project Coordinator RossTarrant Architects Dan Rodawold, Associate/Project Manager RossTarrant Architect, Beth Bauer, Board Member Amy Hart, Superintendent Jason Booher, Board Chair Randy Phillips, Board Members Amber Francheschi and Clifton Prewitt, Financial Officer Amber Minor and Principal Nekita Johnson.
Robert Moore
Herald Staff
[email protected]
The Mercer County Board of Education celebrated the grand opening of the new Mercer County Elementary School on Industry Road on Tuesday, July 14. As contractors put the finishing touches on the new building and staff move their equipment, the school board is left to decide what to do with the old building.
At a working meeting on Wednesday, July 15, Superintendent Jason Booher led board members on an approximately 45-minute tour of the 120,000 square foot facility, walking through the gym, cafeteria and classroom areas.
“What do we do with this building?” Booher asked the board.
The superintendent said the former school is in bad shape and prone to flooding. Booher offered the board two options: keeping and maintaining the building or demolishing it.
The district has already auctioned off surplus playground equipment from both the former elementary school and Harlow. At Wednesday’s working meeting, they also discussed auctioning off the building’s contents.
Booher provided the board with a spreadsheet of who’s still using the facility, including the wrestling and archery teams.
Booher informed the board that the cafeteria roof has multiple leaks and if they continued using it, they would have to replace the roof, which Facilities Director Will Carlton estimated would cost $12,000.
“It is a money drain to keep something up that you’re not even using,” Booher said.
Board member Billy Montgomery, who attended the meeting remotely, recommended that anything in the system that could be cut off be cut off. But that seemed easier said than done. The facility has been renovated multiple times since its original construction, performed by different contractors at different times and no one seemed sure how a system disconnected in one part of the building might impact a system still running elsewhere. Montgomery recommended having somebody survey the building.
Carlton told the board it takes a week to replace the air filter at the former school. They have to replace the filter every three months.
Booher said even the newer parts of the facility would need renovation. On Wednesday night, the superintendent called the old school “an eyesore” and “a money pit.” If the district left the building standing without anyone to use, Booher called it “another abandoned building in Harrodsburg, Kentucky.”
Some have recommended moving the district’s central office and day treatment from their current home, which was formerly Harlow Elementary School, to the newly vacant building. Chief Finance Officer Amber Minor said the state would not allow them to use it just as a central office.
Board member Cliff Prewitt was all for keeping the former gym. “I think we really need that gym for the next eight, nine years,” said Prewitt.
“I don’t know that it makes sense to keep the rest of the school because of the gym,” board member Amber Franceschi.
“We do have one new gym now,” said board member Amy Hart.
“I just know that, over the years, there’s never enough,” Prewitt said. “I still want to keep that gym.”
“Let’s get the numbers,” Franceschi said.
Booher recommended hiring a professional to study the district’s options. The board tabled taking any further action until August.
