SCHOOLS District again seeking bids to demolish building

A Valley union has picketed at the building several times over the last year.
NILES -- Local school officials are once again ready to accept bids from companies interested in tearing down the former Edison Junior High School building.
Bids will be accepted by schools Treasurer Linda C. Molinaro through 1 p.m. July 14, when they will be opened and read.
The board closed Edison Junior High School at the end of the 2002-03 school year after the construction and opening of Niles Middle School. Edison was erected in 1917 and originally served as the city's high school.
School officials had planned to have the Church Street structure torn down last summer, but concerns from the Environmental Protection Agency about the amount of asbestos in the building forced the board to throw out all bids.
Protest
Since the project is funded by the Ohio School Facilities Commission, school officials were told to hire Ohio Penal Industries of Columbus at a cost of $500,000 to remove the asbestos.
Members of Laborers International Union of North America Locals 935 in Warren and 125 in Youngstown have picketed outside the former school several times in the last year, saying the contract was awarded illegally and that the state was taking jobs away from area citizens who need the work.
Bids for the demolition project, which is expected to cost about $165,000, will be read in the school district's administrative offices, 100 West St. The board is scheduled to meet in regular session at 7 p.m. July 29 and could award a contract then.