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The gross sales totaled $39,936 from the YME auction held at the Clarkfield site last Friday. “There were 164 registered bidders,” YME Superintendent Al Stoeckman said as he explained that he was pleased with the revenue raised by the auction.
The items auctioned off were a large hodgepodge of items including microscopes from the science lab to lockers lining the hallways to globes and many chairs. The items were gathered not just from the Clarkfield site, but also from the YME High School and Bert Raney Elementary School in Granite Falls.
“At the end of the school year, teachers from both sites in Granite had an opportunity to go over to the Clarkfield site to see if there were items that they wanted in their classrooms,” shared Stoeckman. Stoeckman explained that the idea was to have staff switch out items from Clarkfield that were in better shape or bring back items they did not already have, “not just add to what we already have in Granite.”
The entire custodial staff worked from Monday morning to the end of the day on Thursday getting the sale ready. “They did a really good job moving items and organizing them,” shared Stoeckman. With the high school building being gutted and the elementary building housing the school offices, drivers education, and other district activities the amount of custodial work that could be completed last week was limited.
The talk around the auction flatbeds rambled between the weather, who was bidding on what and speculation on what will happen to the building site in Clarkfield.
The district has continued to keep a portion of the Clarkfield site open even after the junior high and elementary students have been housed in Granite Falls. The west gymnasium area has been used for Head Start classes. The west end gym entry area has been used for serving lunch to the Head Start students and to act as a warm haven for students to wait for buses. The gym itself continues to be used for junior and senior high athletic events for YME.
“This year the summer wrestling camp will be held at the Clarkfield gym,” Stoeckman shared as he explained why the wrestling mats were stored in the gym entry during the auction.
“I had calls last week and people came up to me and asked if the building was going to be demolished,” stated Stoeckman. “My answer was no.”
LeeAnn Boushek, YME Financial Officer, stated that the district has spent approximately $46,000 each year for the past two years to keep the west end of the building open. “I keep those figures in a separate column,” she explained.
Even though Stoeckman shared that there are no plans to demolish the building he stated, “Parts of the building do need costly renovations.” The most expensive renovation would be replacing an area of the east end roof. An analysis of the structure showed that that portion of the roof should be replaced. “There is no safety issue involved, just leakage. Some of the interior roof tiles have become saturated and have come down.”
“I’d like to see the building used,” smiled Stoeckman. He shared that he is continuing to talk with representatives of the Clarkfield Charter School, representatives from Yellow Medicine County and members of the Clarkfield community in hopes of finding a use for the buildings.
When asked if he sees demolition in the future he answered, “On my radar there is no plan to demolish.”
The gross sales totaled $39,936 from the YME auction held at the Clarkfield site last Friday. “There were 164 registered bidders,” YME Superintendent Al Stoeckman said as he explained that he was pleased with the revenue raised by the auction.
The items auctioned off were a large hodgepodge of items including microscopes from the science lab to lockers lining the hallways to globes and many chairs. The items were gathered not just from the Clarkfield site, but also from the YME High School and Bert Raney Elementary School in Granite Falls.
“At the end of the school year, teachers from both sites in Granite had an opportunity to go over to the Clarkfield site to see if there were items that they wanted in their classrooms,” shared Stoeckman. Stoeckman explained that the idea was to have staff switch out items from Clarkfield that were in better shape or bring back items they did not already have, “not just add to what we already have in Granite.”
The entire custodial staff worked from Monday morning to the end of the day on Thursday getting the sale ready. “They did a really good job moving items and organizing them,” shared Stoeckman. With the high school building being gutted and the elementary building housing the school offices, drivers education, and other district activities the amount of custodial work that could be completed last week was limited.
The talk around the auction flatbeds rambled between the weather, who was bidding on what and speculation on what will happen to the building site in Clarkfield.
The district has continued to keep a portion of the Clarkfield site open even after the junior high and elementary students have been housed in Granite Falls. The west gymnasium area has been used for Head Start classes. The west end gym entry area has been used for serving lunch to the Head Start students and to act as a warm haven for students to wait for buses. The gym itself continues to be used for junior and senior high athletic events for YME.
“This year the summer wrestling camp will be held at the Clarkfield gym,” Stoeckman shared as he explained why the wrestling mats were stored in the gym entry during the auction.
“I had calls last week and people came up to me and asked if the building was going to be demolished,” stated Stoeckman. “My answer was no.”
LeeAnn Boushek, YME Financial Officer, stated that the district has spent approximately $46,000 each year for the past two years to keep the west end of the building open. “I keep those figures in a separate column,” she explained.
Even though Stoeckman shared that there are no plans to demolish the building he stated, “Parts of the building do need costly renovations.” The most expensive renovation would be replacing an area of the east end roof. An analysis of the structure showed that that portion of the roof should be replaced. “There is no safety issue involved, just leakage. Some of the interior roof tiles have become saturated and have come down.”
“I’d like to see the building used,” smiled Stoeckman. He shared that he is continuing to talk with representatives of the Clarkfield Charter School, representatives from Yellow Medicine County and members of the Clarkfield community in hopes of finding a use for the buildings.
When asked if he sees demolition in the future he answered, “On my radar there is no plan to demolish.”
