School Board awaits ‘concrete’ proposals for Lincoln School

    Many ideas have been shared, but the Clear Lake School Board says it anxiously awaits concrete proposals for the Lincoln School site.
    The district held a second public input session Monday night to discuss the future of the school, which will be closed at the completion of the school year.  Just one person attended the meeting, urging the district to sell the site rather than give it away, but offering no plan.
    “We will have at least one more meeting, but what we are needing are some proposals in black and white and do they have any money to back it up,” said Board member Ron Andrews, who heads a sub-committee to study the school’s future.  
    Andrews noted the Board invites proposals for the 4.25 acre site for consideration at a 7 p.m. meeting on May 12.  
    “By June 15 we are done with the building and it becomes a liability,” said Andrews.  He noted the district has experienced the problem a vacant building can create.  Officials believe one or more persons were living inside Central School after it closed in the late 1990s. Eventually an unexplained fire destroyed part of the building; the district razed the remainder.
    Superintendent Dwight Pierson said the district has received estimates of $40,000 to remove asbestos from the school building and $100,000 to demolish the older, three-story portion of the school.  A single-story addition with six classrooms and an office space was made to the school in the mid-1980s.  The addition is heated by a boiler system housed in the older part of the building.
    School district resident Todd Cash asked school leaders if the city would be interested in taking over a portion of the school grounds, where a playground is situated.  Years ago the city vacated a street which divided the play area.  School leaders said the city has indicated it has no interest in the school site, however the playground has not specifically been discussed, they said.
    One individual has talked informally with the district about purchasing the site as an investment property, but no specific proposal has been made, said Pierson.
    “We are looking for ideas and we do want to sell it, while being thoughtful and considering what is best for the community as a whole,” said Board member Tom Lovell.