Elementary school sold at special auction
Snow, freezing rain and treacherous road conditions Saturday didn’t stop two Uniontown men from successfully bidding on the former John F. Kennedy Elementary School building and property in North Union Township. If the deal is approved by the Laurel Highlands School Board, the building and 3 acres of property next to it will sell for $288,750.00 to Tim Mahoney and Francis Palumbo.
Mahoney said he’d like to leave the building as a school, “or maybe turn it into a private school. It has sentimental value to me.”
As a way to obtain the largest lump sum for the former school and property, the sale at auction was split into three bids: the building, which drew a high bid of $225,000 from Todd Casteel of Baja Development; approximately 3 acres next to the building, which attracted a high bid of $35,000 from Regis Provance; and the combined auction of the building and property, which allowed Mahoney and Palumbo to outbid Casteel and Provance and seal the deal.
Mahoney and Palumbo bid $275,000, but the price of the building and residentially-zoned property was increased by 5 percent to include the fee for selling the real estate, making the total sum due $288,750.00.
After serving the district for more than 40 years, the Kennedy school was formally closed for the 2004-2005 school year. The closure was part of the district’s 2003-2004 strategic plan, and it was met with much opposition.
School officials projected that the district would save money with one fewer school to maintain and by not having to hire additional teachers to reduce class sizes in other elementary buildings. Community members argued that the North Union Township area had potential for growth once a sewerage project was completed, and the school would be needed.
Rob Hartsek of Uniontown attended the auction Saturday, noting his opposition to selling the building.
“I think the school district is making a big mistake. They’re going to take $275,000 for this school and put millions in others. It doesn’t make any sense,” he said.
Tammy Komazko, 27, of Uniontown said it was sad that the district was selling the school that she and many of her family members attended.
“It’s kind of heartbreaking,” she said.
The school board is expected to meet sometime next week to approve or deny the sale of the building and property. If the directors vote in favor of the sale, Mahoney and Palumbo, according to the agreement of sale, have 45 days from the date of the school board’s approval to pay the balance in full.
Palumbo said his portion of the buy wasn’t for him. “It’s not for me. It’s for my son Chris,” he said, and added no further comment.
Rusty Mechling of Fayette Engineering was the engineer who surveyed the school property for the sale. Commenting on the sale, he said, “It’s worth what they paid for it, but it would take $4 million to replace it.”
Wylie S. Rittenhouse of Real Estate Auctioneers of Vanderbilt held the auction, which began at 10 a.m. and attracted more than 200 people, 167 of whom were registered bidders.
All of the former school’s contents and belongings also were auctioned off, having been labeled, numbered for sale and stacked in old classrooms, the cafeteria and in the hallways.