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Willow Street Elementary School was closed at the end of the 2007-08 academic year and is slated to be demolished.
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Lampeter-Strasburg school board voted unanimously Monday night to raze Willow Street Elementary School.
Neighbors probably will not see demolition begin until about November, business manager Terry Sweigart told the board. Bid specifications must be created and advertised, he said, and the school's contents must be removed.
The board has said it would build a new Willow Street Elementary School at its current 9 Main St. address when enrollment numbers warrant it.
The building was closed at the end of the 2007-08 academic year. Students who would have attended Willow Street Elementary this school year will go to the new Lampeter Elementary School on Book Road when classes begin Aug. 26.
The school board had the option of closing the building or tearing it down until a new school is built.
Board member Jeffrey Miller said he felt that "a mothballed building is an invitation to vandals."
Sweigart said the cost to raze the building, including asbestos removal, would be roughly $200,000.Sweigart said the district plans to sell unneeded contents of the school at a public auction.
The board also debated what, if anything, should remain on the site after the building is demolished.
Board member Melissa Herr recalled Willow Street residents asking that the playground remain because their children use it.
Herr said the school board should still have the final say about what remains on the site.
"I feel like it is our decision because it is our property," Herr said.
• In other news, the board discussed whether summer camps held by booster clubs are school activities. The camps, which host students from inside and outside the district, currently are not considered L-S activities.
That designation means that the clubs must provide their own insurance, which can be cost-prohibitive for smaller camps.
The board decided to look into insurance options for these groups.
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