The School Committee’s Facilities Subcommittee voted Wednesday to recommend turning the former Eveleth School property to the town, concluding that declining enrollment and available space in existing schools make it unlikely the district will need the building in the foreseeable future.
The full School Committee is expected to begin discussing the recommendation at its Oct. 1 meeting during subcommittee updates. Any transfer would require additional steps, including a Town Meeting vote.
Superintendent John Robidoux said the district looked last year at commissioning a feasibility study to determine possible uses for the building, but the study alone was estimated to cost about $275,000.
“At the time, and I think currently, in the fiscal climate that we’re in, it didn’t really make a whole lot of sense to spend that kind of money just to find out what could be utilized,” he said.
Robidoux told the subcommittee that school leaders have considered several potential uses for Eveleth, but none justifies keeping the property under School Department control.
Among the possibilities considered:
— Moving central administrative offices to Eveleth.
— Creating an early childhood center there.
— Using the building to house the district’s new program for special needs students ages 18-22.
Robidoux said moving the district’s central offices to Eveleth could require roughly $500,000 before staff could move in. An early childhood center does not appear necessary given the district’s enrollment. And, the district has identified potential space at the high school for the 18-22-year-old program.
The Eveleth School, built in 1958, has not been used as a regular elementary school for several years.
The building is not entirely unused, however. The town uses three classrooms for document storage, while the School Department uses another room for storage. The Recreation and Parks Department also used the building for overflow space during summer programs, particularly during bad weather.
Subcommittee members Henry Gwazda and Al Williams agreed that enrollment projections and available capacity at existing schools make a strong case for relinquishing the property.
The subcommittee also discussed whether conditions could be attached to the transfer to preserve the property for municipal purposes or potentially allow the schools to use it again if enrollment surges in the future.
The School Committee gave the town the old Coffin School property in 2025. The town plans to use the space for housing and is currently accepting proposals.
