Property disposal discussed

BERNE - The final chapter in the transition to the new South Adams elementary and middle schools is about to be written as school board members Tuesday set in motion the process of disposing of the former school sites.

Several different properties were involved, and they were handled in a number of different ways.

The board unanimously decided to:

•Transfer the old Geneva baseball field back to the town of Geneva for the sum of $1, noting that the field originally belonged to the town.

•Sell the current administrative office building on U.S. 27 to Amy McDonald-Lengerich for $54,000. The appraised value was $60,000, and the sole bid was within allowable state limits.

•Auction off land on Clark Street in Berne, while maintaining the right to reject bids if they fall far short of the appraised value.

•Reject a bid of $50,000 for the old elementary school building in Berne, noting that it was substantially below the appraisal.

•Seek proposals for demolition and clean-up of the old elementary building as well as the old middle school building in Geneva. The ultimate fate of those two properties has not yet been determined. It is likely they will be re-appraised after demolition.

•Schedule auctions on Nov. 7 and Nov. 14 to dispose of surplus equipment and furnishings at the old schools.

In other business, the board:

•Heard a report on the use of Orchard software to track student performance. "We are trying to use assessment to drive curriculum," teacher Carol Cummings told the board. "It's new, but we're getting it down."

•Agreed to move a boulder marked as a memorial to the class of 1910 of Berne High School from the southwest corner of the South Adams High School property to the former site of Berne High School, which is the lot where Berne City Hall now stands. Board members suggested that the South Adams class of 2010 have a group photo taken at the rock to commemorate 100 years.[[In-content Ad]]