SHARPSVILLE Fire marshal to inspect damage to former school

A charter school is to open there in the fall.
SHARPSVILLE, Pa. -- A state police fire marshal was to inspect the scene of a fire that did extensive damage to the former South Pymatuning Elementary School at 3637 Tamarack Drive.
Dr. Derry Stufft, superintendent of Sharpsville schools, said the blaze started in the building's gymnasium around 3 a.m. Saturday and gutted the gym and stage area. Fire crews were able to stop the fire, but the entire building sustained smoke damage.
The structure, vacated by the Sharpsville Area School District when it built a new elementary school in 2001, had only one tenant -- Vath Audio-Visuals. The company didn't have any fire damage but did sustain some smoke damage, Stufft said, noting that the district is working on getting power restored so Vath can resume operations.
If that can't be done quickly, the district can arrange to have Vath relocate temporarily to the district's administration building on Seventh Street, Stufft said.
Puts plan in jeopardy
A new charter school for elementary pupils is to open in the South Pymatuning building this September, and those plans are now uncertain, he said.
A lot will depend on how the state Department of Education will allow Sharpsville to repair the building, Stufft said.
The state usually requires that an entire building be brought up to current school building standards during any remodeling project, but Stufft said Sharpsville may want to rebuild only the gymnasium portion of the structure.
The gymnasium area of the building was last used by the school district's wrestling program over the winter and no one has been in that area for weeks, Stufft said.