On the auction block: Tuscarawas Valley to sell off unneeded items from Bolivar School

BOLIVAR ‒ Chairs, desks, upright and chest freezers, stainless steel surfaces, convection ovens, wall maps and lockers are all going on the auction block as Tuscarawas Valley Local Schools moves to liquidate everything inside the old Bolivar School.

The school, the oldest part of which dates to 1927, closed last year and is slated to be torn down as Tusky Valley moves to have all of its students attend classes on one campus in Zoarville. It was officially known as the Tuscarawas Valley Intermediate School.

The district is planning to hold an online auction from March 12 to 26, conducted by Cronebaugh Auctions, to sell all of the furnishings. An in-person preview is planned for 9 a.m. to noon March 16. Not only are prospective buyers invited to attend, but also the general public to give them one more time to walk through the building.

"Our hope is to provide the opportunity for these items to be repurposed back out into the community so people can use them," said Mark Murphy, the district's former superintendent and now director of operations.

Added Superintendent Derek Varansky, "While building new facilities, our goal has always been to celebrate our legacy and embrace our future, together, as Trojans. As we close the intermediate building and prepare for abatement and demolition, we want to honor the history of that building and the memories by allowing people to purchase items of interest to them.

"My career in education began in that building on the third floor when I was hired at Tusky Valley to teach fourth grade, so I completely understand the connection our community has to the facility and want to ensure people can obtain items they would like. The stories shared with me at last year's closing program were very heartwarming, and I enjoyed talking with former students who told stories of what happened in the classrooms, the teachers they had and the joy the building brought them."

Recently, Murphy took The T-R on a tour of the building to view the hundreds of items that will be sold in the auction.

The building is crammed with old school furniture. One former classroom has nothing but desks stored in it.

Tons of furniture

The district stashed lots of furniture from the old middle school in the event that it would need that furniture for the new elementary building, which will open later this year, he explained. The budget for new furniture was going to be tight. The furniture, enough for six classrooms, was stockpiled as a safeguard, but it is not going to be needed.

More on Bolivar School: Hooked on History: Bolivar school was 'an integral part of the community'

And there is a market for this furniture.

"Last year, we were trying to sell off a few surplus things. It was not enough for an auction, but I managed some things through govdeals (an online auction site)," he said. "It was amazing. We had people from Florida that rented a U-Haul and drove up here. We pulled furniture out of this building that we knew we didn't need anymore, elementary desks. Those desks were going to be shipped then, I believe, to India for a school."

People can even purchase school lockers.

"We want to give the opportunity for people to purchase lockers, as long as they're not embedded into the structure of the building, because once we start doing that, then we're messing with asbestos and hazardous materials," Murphy said.

Interesting items in the 1927 section

Many people have expressed interest in purchasing items from the oldest part of the building.

"Here's where people are going to get really excited, I believe, with the auction. I've had so many people say, 'Mark, I want the door that's on the second floor that says office,'" he said.

Many of the classrooms in this section are lined with original wooden cabinets and drawers, all nearly 100 years old. "You've got beautiful doors with the frosted windowpanes," he said.

But it will be the buyer's responsibility to remove these items. "They will be guided by Cronebaugh and the district, but it's the buyer's responsibility completely and buyer's responsibility in terms of safe removal of everything," Murphy said.

Anything not sold will be included in the demolition of the building.

Legacy pieces will be preserved

However, Tusky Valley plans to save what Murphy calls legacy pieces from the Bolivar School, including the cornerstone, dedication plaques, a piece of masonry at the front of the building which reads "Bolivar Public School" and the academic torches on either side of the front of the structure. The same will be done for the elementary school in Mineral City, which is slated to close at the end of this school year.

"Those are the type of components from both buildings that we want to incorporate into some kind of design or sculpture for the future on the Tusky Valley Road campus," Murphy said.

The former superintendent said the time had come to close the Bolivar School.

"This building is very chopped up," he said. "Not one thing is handicapped accessible. Very hard to maintain. Very expensive to maintain. But she has served us well. We're so grateful. But it's time to bring it down, return to green space. The board of education's goal has always been to convey the property then to the respective villages for them to use however they would like to and that they feel is necessary."

He added, "These buildings have served us so well, but when you really look closely at the age and condition of the building, you realize this is not the environment that we want for our children to be learning in, when you have walls that are crumbling."

Reach Jon at 330-364-8415 or at jon.baker@timesreporter.com.

This article originally appeared on The Times-Reporter: Tusky Valley plans online auction to sell items from Bolivar School