The Oconto Falls School Board on Sept. 8 moved ahead with plans to end its ownership of the land where Jefferson School once stood.
The board is scheduled to review maps and discuss the property’s estimated market value Oct. 13, as it considers if it wants to divest itself of the property and, if so, to whom.
The district owns one lot at the site that has no restrictions regarding its sale.
The second lot is tied to a 130-year-old deed. According to the deed, the land reverts to the original owners, John and Alnusa Volk, or their heirs once it’s no longer used for educational purposes. According to the school’s attorney, when Jefferson School closed in 1995, the district ceased to own the lot.
Jefferson School was torn down in 2002, and the land has been incorporated into the city’s Pine Grove Park.
School officials in June asked the Oconto Falls City Council to consider taking ownership of the parcels, but city officials asked their attorney to review the legal paperwork associated with the Volk parcel before taking any action.
In a letter to the school district, attorney Larry Jeske suggested the district issue a quit claim deed in order to relinquish all claim to the property.
The Oconto Falls Area Heritage Center has approached the school district about moving the vacant Spruce School, a two-room schoolhouse, to the Jefferson School property. The organization is raising funds to purchase Spruce School, relocate it and open it for historical tours.
“We want the property. It would make us move up the ladder on our whole program,” said Dale Seelig, of the Oconto Falls Heritage Center.
Superintendent Dave Polashek said the heritage center needs to have the legal authority to accept or purchase the land before the district moves ahead with plans to transfer ownership.
Seelig said the Oconto Falls Heritage Center is a registered nonprofit organization that is capable of handling the project.
“The group, small as it may be, is still energetic and willing to move forward on this,” he said.
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