LEHIGHTON, Pa. -- An old elementary school in one part of Carbon County that's been up for sale for more than a year was auctioned off on Monday.
The former Shull David Elementary School in Lehighton was purchased by Joseph Bennett of Lehighton School Site LLC. Bennett outbid Behavioral Health Associates.
"We had four older elementary school buildings that we have since closed. We sold two of them last year. We had two remaining, Shull David being one of them. We have Franklin Elementary School as well," said Lehighton Area Superintendent Jonathan Cleaver.
The winning bid was $402,500. Shull David was up for sale for a little more than a year. Bennett declined to comment about his plans for the building, but school board members are glad the building is no longer the district's responsibility.
"I'm a very interested person as to what our assets are and where they're going. I'm glad that we dismissed the Shull David School, that we no longer have the property, and we're investing money into something we no longer need," said board member Steve Holland.
The last time Shull David Elementary School was used was during the 2017-2018 school year, but still, the district had to put money into the property.
"Not having them occupied for a year, we were still paying about $50,000 to $60,000 a year just for general upkeep. The maintenance, we had building checks we still have to do. We kept the heat to a minimum in there too just to make sure there were no issues in the wintertime with pipes breaking and such," Cleaver said.
Kids have been and will continue to attend the new Lehighton Elementary Center that opened back in September.