Lehighton widens net to sell schools

Lehighton Area School District is broadening its search in an attempt to sell two elementary schools it is no longer using.

Shull-David and Franklin elementary schools remain up for sale after they closed at the end of the 2017-18 school year. The district voted in August to list the properties as “available” in commercial real estate publications throughout eastern Pennsylvania.

Monday night, by a 7-2 vote, the board voted to also list them on a public website accessible by a larger audience.

“I think we need to cast a wider net,” Director David Bradley said in suggesting the motion.

At the same time the district is trying to sell the two schools, it is working through a subdivision process with Franklin Township.

The school board voted 6-3 in July to give Christman Field to the township at no cost with a clause that it revert to district ownership should it cease to be used for recreational use in the future. Franklin Township Athletic Association will continue to use the fields for Little League action.

The subdivision would split the four baseball and softball fields from the parcel that includes the Franklin school and soccer fields.

According to a motion that the district passed Monday, the Christman Field parcel would be 11.804 acres while the school and soccer field parcel would be 13.667 acres. The acreage, however, is still pending a final vote by Lehighton’s board.

The Christman Field parcel would also include an easement to allow Franklin to connect a public sewer line.

Lehighton Superintendent Jonathan Cleaver said Monday that since the August advertisement, several people have requested tours.

“We have definitely received more interest in Franklin, but the major concern is that until the district officially approves the subdivision, they don’t know what the acreage will be,” Cleaver said.

Businesses from Wilkes-Barre to Plymouth Meeting have expressed interest in the building, Cleaver added.

Lehighton’s board held a lengthy discussion Monday over whether or not to expand the advertisement for both properties, specifically Franklin.

“We still don’t have the proper information to provide to a real estate site to say what the actual acreage would be,” board President Larry Stern said. “It makes it difficult for anyone to put in a bid.”

Stern ultimately voted for the advertisement. Directors Wayne Wentz and Andrew Yenser were the lone dissenters.

“The proposed acreage is down to the thousandth of an acre,” board member Richard Beltz said. “I don’t see a downside to advertising it further. People would have a pretty solid idea of what they’re getting.”

The board authorized Brian Feick, district business manager, to spend up to $500 on the advertisement for both properties.