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OPINIONS
Editorial: Miller building has year to find new use or be demolished
The building housing Southside Elementary School was formerly known as the Miller Elementary School building. Miller opened in 1915, and the building will be vacated next year as Southside moves to its new home. The Cabell County Board of Education is looking for a person or agency to buy Miller, but it has had no takers so far. If the school board cannot find a new use for the building, the board might have to demolish it.
Purchase this photoIn about a year, the Cabell County Board of Education will have a decision to make on the fate of the old Miller Elementary School property.
As the board finishes its building program that is seeing the construction of three new middle schools and two elementaries, it will have some unneeded properties on its hands. So far, Miller is the only one that has had no interest from prospective buyers or users.
Now that the new Barboursville Middle School is open, the old building will be demolished soon. The new Milton Middle School should be open for classes this fall. The school board plans to use the new section of the current middle school building for preschool programs, Superintendent Bill Smith told The Herald-Dispatch editorial board this week. The town of Milton has expressed some interest in using the older part for city offices, but no firm agreement has been reached, Smith said.
Cammack middle and elementary were torn down to make way for the new Southside Elementary School and Huntington Middle School to be built on that site.
The school board has a memorandum of agreement with the Cabell County Community Services Organization to turn the old West Middle School building, now used by Huntington Middle School, into an apartment and community center similar to the one in the former Huntington High School building.
The Miller building is being used by Southside Elementary until the new school is finished. The board expects to vacate both the Miller building and the West building in January 2010, Smith said.
The board does not want to leave any building vacant, as that brings only bad things to a neighborhood, Smith said. It does not want a repeat of what happened with the old Barnett building at the corner of 8th Avenue and Hal Greer Boulevard, where an abandoned school sat for years.
If the school board cannot sell Miller or give it to someone who has the resources to use it, the board will demolish the old building, Smith said.
It's always a shame to lose a good building, but the board may have no choice. Miller opened in 1915. Older schools tend to have asbestos and lead paint, both of which require expensive abatement work before they can be put to other uses, Smith said.
Anyone who has a good use for Miller has about a year to put together an offer and present it to the board. Otherwise Miller could find itself relegated to memory as history, the same as many other former school buildings.
