AG board to sell building
MASONTOWN – The former home of the Masontown Elementary School might not belong to the Albert Gallatin Area School District much longer now that the school board has decided to solicit bids for the building. According to district superintendent Walter Vicinelly, school officials are preparing an advertisement for bids, and the ad must appear for at least three weeks before bids will be opened.
Vicinelly said the former school building housed district administrative offices at one time and more recently, students from A.G. North and South middle schools spent time on different occasions there while their respective schools were renovated.
“The building was helpful for us to use to keep kids out of the buildings while they were being renovated,” he said. “Right now, we don’t foresee a need for it, and it’s not being used right now.”
The board will receive sealed bids and will reserve the right to accept or reject them, based on an appraisal of the property that has yet to be completed, Vicinelly said.
The district recently completed a public sale of items it no longer needs, and many of those were stored in the Masontown building, Vicinelly said, noting that remaining supplies are being transferred to other locations throughout the district.
The new Masontown Elementary School was built in the borough and opened its doors at the start of the 1999-2000 school year.
Over the past year or two, at least two groups have approached the district about using the former school site. A group that now operates the Power Plant youth community center originally had looked at the school to house the center but has located in another facility within the borough.
Vicinelly said the board voted to solicit bids to get an idea of how much interest there might be for the building. However, the superintendent would not speculate how much the district might receive in a sale of the building.
“I think there will be some interest, because we’ve had some calls,” he said. “It’s centrally located in Masontown, and we’re using the bidding process as a survey to see what interest is there.”
Meanwhile, Vicinelly said he was unsure as to how soon the school board will take action on the bids, saying solicitor Lee Price was still working on the specifications for the advertisement.