Bernard Elementary School has potential buyer, but its future use is uncertain

An eastern Iowa school district is close to selling one of its school buildings, but school board and community members say they have no idea what the interested buyer plans to put there.

In 2017, the Western Dubuque Community School District closed Bernard Elementary School, saying the low enrollment numbers did not make financial sense to keep open. 31 students were enrolled at the time of the closure, and the population of the town was less than 100. Currently, elementary school students are bused to Cascade Elementary School, about 11 miles away from Bernard.

At a school board meeting Monday, board members voted unanimously to approve a high bid of $41,200 from a KSSB Trust out of Texas, but with apparent connections to the Bernard area. Business Manager & District Treasurer for the Western Dubuque Community School District Mark Frasher said selling the building is a better alternative for the district and the community, versus "a deteriorating vacant building." The school board voted unanimously to approve the bid, 5-0.

The building was assessed as $326,770, and some community members felt the bid cost was far too low for the school district to even consider. Frasher said it makes fiscal sense to sell for the bid that was offered.

"With this obviously being a very unique property, I personally don’t feel that the assessed value is good indicator of actual value," Frasher said. "Whoever purchases this property will have to make a significant investment in order to get any sort of value back out of it, which is why we weren’t shocked at the bid amounts."

The school district has also been paying for maintenance of the building and property, even after the school has closed. Frasher said the cost of maintenance is "upwards of $20,000 per year."

"We have incurred that expense for the last year knowing we might use that building again," said Rick Colpitts, Superintendent of the Western Dubuque Community School District. "In the end, I was not sure that we'd get any positive bids at all."

Colpitts said the school district had been researching extensively to determine the best course of action for the vacant elementary school, eventually deciding it was best to cut ties.

"We've been doing a facilities study, including an enrollment study, and we've been working on that for about 16-17 months," Colpitts said. "When it finally came down to it, we realized that wasn't a building that was going to fit into that facilities plan."

Longtime residents recalled the memories they had of the school, still disappointed the school was forced to close in June 2017.

"We had four sons go through the school, and they had a very good education," said Connie Manders, a lifelong Bernard resident for the past 80 years, and the third generation of her family to call Bernard home.

"I was very sad because when you lose a school in your system, in a small community, you just never get one back," Manders said.

Residents like Manders have ideas for what to do with the space, ranging from a community center, its original function of a school building, and others- but what remains uncertain is what the company who bought it will even do with it.

"We've heard lots of ideas, all rumors and conjecture, that they're talking about turning into some sort of a housing situation, where they would convert it into apartments," Colpitts said.

Manders said she would like to see a daycare, looking at is as an opportunity for the community to expand.

"It's very necessary in our area," Manders said. "I think it would bring more young people into our area. And of course, the more people that live in your area, the more business you're going to have."

"The person who got the bid... your guess is as good as mine," Colpitts said.

The school board will hold a public hearing next month to hear community opinions on the sale. They could approve the sale as early as that meeting on November 12.