WOODSFIELD ­– After being “used and abused for 25 years or more,” the former Woodsfield High School is approaching the end of its lifespan.

Early this month, Monroe County Sheriff Charles Black Jr. announced on social media that the old high school building had been forfeited to the county following a drug investigation by his department in 2020. Noting that there had been reports of people entering the building, Black said his office posted “no trespassing” signs and secured the structure. He added that anyone entering the building will be charged with trespassing.

County Treasurer Taylor Abbott subsequently confirmed that the county had taken ownership of the building and that the Monroe County Land Reutilization Corp. that he chairs, aka the land bank, added the school to its list of proposed demolition projects. The former Graysville school is also on that list.

The land bank razed the former Clarington and Beallsville schools last year. Abbott said it has funding available again this year to remove the two additional schools.

“We already have $1 million set aside, but the state has to approve the project,” Abbott said in a phone interview. “We are requesting approval to use that funding for an environmental survey and abatement of anything hazardous. It will probably take the full million for both buildings.”

Abbott said the Woodsfield structure, which was built in 1915 and closed as a school in 1994, has been “used and abused for 25 years or more.” He said there is evidence of people living in the building and noted it has been vandalized. He said officials found drug paraphernalia, needles and more throughout the building. He added that the village police and sheriff’s office have received a number of reports about people being in the building over the years.

“We hate to see history like this lost in the county,” he said. “At the same time, it would cost millions of dollars to do restoration to a building this size. It’s not sustainable.”

Now that the county owns the structure and the site, Abbott said the board of commissioners will decide the end use of the property at 204 S. Paul St. once demolition is complete. The land bank will raze the school and the gymnasium, which Abbott said are tied together.

“We’re cleaning up what’s there now, and we will save what we can,” he said. “Hopefully something usable can go on that site that will benefit the community once school’s down.”

The Graysville school is located along Ohio 26 in Graysville. Abbott said the gym at that location is well maintained and serves as a community center; however, he said the community doesn’t have the means to continue to maintain a building of that size so it will be torn down along with the school. He said the goal there is to try to secure grant funding to redevelop the site. He speculated that a new community center might be built or that the fire hall will be expanded.

“It would be great if we could maintain the gym,” he noted, “but with this grant, it’s all or nothing.”

Abbott explained that the land bank administers the grant funding provided by the state for removal of blighted buildings. He added that as the buildings are torn down, alumni and others will work to salvage some things from the buildings such as bricks, blackboards and architectural elements of the structures.

“I try to preserve as much as I can, but at the end of the day not every building can be saved,” Abbott said. “We will at least save some architectural pieces and get them into people’s hands and have those memories.

“These schools were the epicenter of many of our villages, but time moves on.”

Abbott plans to have both projects completed in 2024. He hopes to begin demolition by late summer or early fall. But that timeline is subject to getting the go-ahead from the state.

“It’s time consuming for them – we understand that. So we try to put together the best application that we can to expedite things and get the money approved for our use.”

Once the state reviews and approves the application, Abbott said, the land bank will go through the bidding process, sending out a prequalification packet and ensuring bidders meet the project criteria.

Abbott said the land bank operates through a reimbursement program, which allows the state to “hold the contractor’s feet to the fire” to ensure they do the required reporting and perform the demolition to code and environmental standards. The contractor submits its costs to the land bank, which turns them over to the state. Reimbursement usually occurs within two weeks, he said.

Abbott pointed out that the land bank also is working to remove dilapidated homes from the county. He hopes to raze 40-50 such structures with work to begin before the end of the calendar year. The land bank received $9 million for work completed in 2022, and it is requesting additional funds now for other projects.

“We’ve done a lot with our land bank here in the county,” Abbott added. “It’s a priority to deal with these longtime issues.”