Oak Harbor: B-C-S board planning middle school demolition

The Benton-Carroll-Salem school board held a special meeting Jan. 13 to present information about the 10-year process to decide the future of the old, vacated Oak Harbor Middle School building.
Barring any last-minute formal viability studies or detailed redevelopment plans from interested parties, the board plans on moving forward with the demolition process.
“Our No. 1 priority as a school district is to educate kids,” B-C-S treasurer Cajon Keeton said. “To date, no political subdivision has come forward and said, ‘We want that building.’ “We don’t have that. Ultimately, it comes back down to a timing issue.”
The cost to demolish the building, which opened in 1911, would be $1 million, half of which would be paid by a grant from the Ottawa County Land Bank. The other half would be paid for by funds the school board began setting aside in 2015.
The board stressed that no new or additional taxes would be necessary for demolition.
The timing issue mentioned by Keeton revolves around the $500,000 grant requiring demolition by June 30, 2025, and board members said they were told an extension is not possible.
While there has been a company selected to abate the property, the bid process hasn’t started with potential demolition companies, and that process would be completed by Ottawa County.
It was noted on Monday that one individual formally addressed the board during a recent meeting about the property, and a letter was received from an out-of-state investor. However, that investor ultimately had minimal interest in the project and wouldn’t even be able to assess the project for six-plus months.
For those interested in a more complete background of the process, the Benton-Carroll-Salem Local School District Facebook page has the full video of the presentation. It was posted Jan. 14.
District Superintendent Cathy Bergman encouraged transparency in the process and asked people to reach out with any questions. Bergman can be reached at cbergman@bcssd.com, while Keeton can be contacted at ckeeton@bcssd.com. Contact information for all board members is also available on the district’s website.
The building has its ardent supporters throughout the district.
In a recent letter to the editor of The Press, Jim Benadom, Oak Harbor, wrote that the Oak Harbor Village Council and the B-C-S school board should join forces and find investors “willing to renovate the vacated middle school building.”
“If someone is willing to invest their own money to renovate the school building, why not let them,” he wrote. “What an asset it would be to the community.”
In October 2023, during the Oak Harbor Apple Festival, the school district held an open house for the building, allowing alumni and the public the opportunity to tour the landmark structure.
A few months later, the school board and administration held a ribbon-cutting ceremony to mark the opening of the Oak Harbor Intermediate School next to the R.C. Waters Elementary School.
Students in grades four through six attend the Intermediate School and those in kindergarten through the third grade attend class at the R.C. Waters building.
The next board meeting is scheduled for Feb. 18 at 4:45 p.m. in the board of education office. The date is one week earlier than the normally scheduled board meetings, which occur on the fourth Tuesday of each month.