SHARON — Whether they decide to use the building or not, Sharon school directors want to buy the former Hadley Elementary School.

Superintendent John Sarandrea at a public hearing Wednesday said the district is looking to buy the building on Boyd Drive, which has housed Laurel Technical Institute, for $252,500. He said officials want the property even if they don�t decide to build on it.

�Ludicrous,� said Jim Grasso of the move. �You made it clear you did not listen to the taxpayers.�

Sarandrea said no decision has been made to move the 550 Case Avenue Elementary students to Hadley, but the board does want to tear down the former high school due to its age and condition.

School directors could decide to build a new school on the Case footprint or at 335 Boyd Drive, he said.

Richard and Patricia McMahon own the roughly 4.4 acres the school building sits on and the district owns about 4 acres around it that are used for playfields.

Sarandrea said the district could raze the building and expand the field area, as such spaces are needed in the district.

Paperwork prepared to submit to the Pennsylvania Department of Education shows the district would pay another $7,000 in fees for the sale and $242,800 for such things as grading and sewers if they develop the land.

About 50 people attended the hearing. Folks voiced their opinions about what the district should do about the aging Case Avenue school.

The district had to hold the hearing if they intend to ask the state to reimburse part of the cost of the project. Documents show the state might pay $133,833 toward turning Hadley into a Sharon elementary school again.

Those who spoke at the meeting offered a variety of comments, from those like Guy Cunningham who support tearing down Case and building a new school at its centralized location.

�We�re ahead of the game,� Sue Mulvey said, adding that research shows campus locations are good for school districts. �I�m confused as to why we would look to take that advantage away.�

William McConnell Jr. said he wants to see the district analyze a more modest renovation of Case, noting that the cost of that has not been disclosed in public documents.

�Remember, the city is in trouble financially,� Sam Messina told the board. He wondered if there�d be anyone left in the city to pay for a new school once it�s in use because the population is shrinking.

When asked by Dave Kepics how the district was going to pay for a building project, Sarandrea said it would likely be a mix of loans, state funds, savings and �taxpayer effort.�

Without actual costs for a project, Sarandrea guessed homeowners might see their tax bills go up $150 to $175 or more per year to support about 9 mills of taxes that would go toward the project.

Some in the audience supported the idea of a new school.

Christopher Bobby said he teaches at a new complex in Leavittsburg, Ohio, and that a new building makes a great deal of difference for students. He said the improvement can�t be explained in a slide show or in dollar amounts and that a new school would draw people to the city.

Kim Hacker said she has four children who attend Case and she is also a teacher there.

�I think it�s dangerous to keep them where they are,� she said of the building�s condition.

Ms. Hacker said classrooms have been closed due to flooding and items have been destroyed by leaks.

John Foltz again brought up the idea of consolidation.

Sarandrea said he�s discussed it with Sharon directors and with other district officials, but there�s been no official approach to neighboring districts.

For more than a decade school officials have been talking about doing something with Case and in the past few years options have been tossed around with pricetags ranging up to more than $30 million.

A study by Eckles Architecture, New Castle, last spring showed buying the Hadley building and adding on to it would be the cheapest option at $18.6 million. The architects found the most expensive step would be to renovate the existing Case building.

Tearing down case would cost about $700,000, reports have shown.

Officials have said building one big elementary school near the high school and closing C.M. Musser and West Hill schools is not an option because the district still owes on the bonds for renovations there for another 10 years. If the buildings were closed, the state would no longer help pay for them.

Sarandrea said the Case project has been fast-tracked so that the school could possibly get some federal stimulus money, including a no-interest Qualified School Construction Bond.

More meetings will be held in future weeks to talk about the options the district has considered and dismissed leading up to the board�s decision about the project.

The board could make a decision about the purchase before another public hearing is held, Sarandrea said.