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HARTINGTON — Almost exactly four years to the date when the Hartington-Newcastle School Board voted to close the Newcastle school, Board members discussed the possibility of abandoning the school building altogether.
The Board voted to close the facility in June 2021, just prior to the start of the 2021-22 school year and began bussing all Newcastle students to the Hartington building at that time.
Supt. A.J. Johnson said there have been numerous discussions with Newcastle community leaders and Village Board members over the years about selling the facility to the village or a developer.
To date, nothing has come of those discussions, though.
Johnson said he has talked with other schools to find out if a community weight room or exercise facility would be feasible at the site, and what kind of fees they charge people to use those facilities. Some grants have also been explored, but nothing has come of that, he said.
When the Newcastle campus was first closed, the school was used for some One Act Play competitions and a couple of other events. The Newcastle football field was also used once for a varsity Hartington-Newcastle game.
There are currently two Hartington- Newcastle employees that split their time between Newcastle and Hartington, Johnson said. On occasion, a special education instructor will use the facility as an office site if they are working in the area, he said. The school's bus barn is also utilized to house two busses that drive routes originating in that area.
The costs of keeping the facility far outweigh any use it is providing to the District, though, Board members said.
After the meeting Supt. Johnson noted the school paid $750 last month in utililties for Newcastle. The bills are higher in winter, he said.
HNS School Board President Jason Dendinger said it's time to start making some decisions about the future of the facility.
'We've met with them plenty of times. I think they need to bring something to the Board, or we need to take some action,' he said.
Board members also discussed the idea of simply locking the doors and shutting off the utilities in the building.
Dendinger then asked Supt. Johnson to add an item to the agenda for the July 21 meeting that the Board will consider permanently shuttering the school.
'I don't think we want to pay utilities on that for another winter,' said Board member Jason Heikes.
