Liberty campaign kicks off

The old high school will be torn down in the next few months.
By HOLLY TAYLOR
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
LIBERTY -- A meeting is set for 4:30 p.m. Wednesday in the superintendent's office for anyone interested in helping with the campaign for the school district levy on the Aug. 3 special election ballot.
Superintendent Lawrence Prince told the board of education Monday night that the campaign is in full swing. Volunteers will meet in his office at 6 p.m. Thursday to team up to deliver yard signs around the township that night. He said 1,000 signs are ordered, and already 600 people are on the list to have one in their yards. Anyone interested in placing a sign in their yard or volunteering their time to the campaign should contact him at his office, he said.
He added that the district's pay-to-participate program will be eliminated if the levy passes.
"This is necessary for the welfare of not only the students, but also the community. Strong schools and strong communities go hand in hand," Prince said after the meeting.
In other business, Prince said most of the old high school building at 317 Church Hill Road will be demolished within the next few months, leaving only the gymnasium and old shop left standing for districtwide storage use.
The old school building was vacated in the fall of 1999 and has been steadily deteriorating since then. The board agreed that the advancing deterioration, vandalism, recent break-ins and insurability indicate an urgent need for demolition of the structure. The cost is expected to be between $165,000 and $175,000.
The school district is seeking price quotes from contractors for the emergency demolition.
The project has been addressed before by board members, but recent break-ins and burglaries at the old school this spring have prompted the board to go forward with the work.