The Mercer County (West Virginia) school board has voted to demolish two schools that were closed earlier this year.
The Bluefield Daily Telegraph reports that the Bluewell School and Brushfork Elementary, both in Bluefield, closed in June, and students were relocated to the new Timberwood Elementary, which opened in August.
Demolition bids are still pending for the two schools, according to Mercer County School Board President Greg Prudich.
“The vote was made to demolish them, so that’s moving forward,” Prudich said. “We’ve had conversations about potential uses, but we are mindful that they are in residential areas, and we wanted to be thoughtful.’
Prudich says the board doesn’t want to leave empty buildings in the county.
It is still possiblethat an appropriate agency or government body could come forward with a proposal to reuse the two structures.
“But that’s very unlikely,” Prudich said. “What is more likely is it gets demolished and then the property goes up to auction.”
