The Oconto Falls School District has found a buyer for Spruce School, an abandoned two-room schoolhouse on the market for the past three years.
The School Board on Monday accepted an offer of $50,000, with the conditions the buyer be responsible for fixing the leaky roof and the school district be responsible for pumping the septic tank.
Closing is scheduled at the end of October. District officials declined to disclose the identify the buyer, choosing to wait until the sale is finalized.
The school, at 7904 County Road A, Lena, closed in June 2012 and was put on the market in October 2012 for $90,000. The School Board reduced the price several times, the latest in April 2014 when the price was set at $65,000.
School Board President Ron Leja said members were willing to accept less than $65,000 because the building is starting to deteriorate; the board learned about the leaky roof last week. In executive session on Monday, the School Board countered an offer of $45,000 with $55,000 before both parties agreed to $50,000.
Spruce School educated generations of Spruce-area students. In recent years, the schoolhouse was operated as a charter school with an environmental emphasis for students in grades one through five. Financial considerations and low enrollment led to its closure.
In May 2014, a buyer submitted an offer of $55,000, which the school district rejected. School officials delayed acting on a $61,000 offer made earlier from the same buyer to allow the Oconto Falls Area Heritage Center an opportunity to match the offer. The history group planned to move Spruce School and make it the centerpiece of a historical attraction in Oconto Falls but could not muster the funding needed for the purchase and upkeep of the building.
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