by Mari Radtke
For two consecutive weekends people could wander through the 1925 school building in Paullina. As part of the upgrades to the South O’Brien Junior High/High School that building will be demolished. The school board put a lot of effort into putting together a cost effective plan to save the building. None could be developed.
School officials opened the doors to the old building the last weekend of May and the first weekend of June. People wandered and remembered their days in the old building. Old friends reunited. Memories were shared.
Copies of a 1981 budget report for the Paullina School District were available for the taking. Copies of tour guide notes from the Paullina Centennial were also available for the taking. This was an informative set of notes after becoming South O’Brien. A lot of history was made available to keep through these two documents.
The overall building project in Paullina is entering its second year. Parking at the football field is complete. Work at the north campus began. Classroom and a new gym are fully enclosed and work inside is underway. Leaders hope the classrooms, gym and fitness are in use by fall 2025.
At the same time, the 1925 building needs to come down to make room for a new science wing. The demolition is expected to begin at the end of June.
An online auction, hosted by Zomer Auction will begin soon and end quickly. A final open house is scheduled for Tuesday June 10 from 4:00 – 6:00pm. The auction is currently underway and closes June 19 beginning at 5:00pm. The winning bidder can do what they wish with the contents, but the time space for removal will be very short. The pickup window is Saturday June 21 from 9:00am to 1:00pm and must be removed no later than Tuesday June 24. Each of the 196 lots has a 10% buyer premium capped at $750.00.