By Courtney L. Anderson
SHARON — Sharpsville resident Richard Wiley grew up in Sharon and graduated from Sharon High School in 1957.
He has a lot of great memories from attending class in what is now Case Avenue Elementary School. His senior year both the football and basketball teams won state championships, something Wiley, 72, remembers fondly.
The halls those athletes walked will become just that — a memory — now that Sharon school directors have decided to raze the building and construct another at the site behind or in the same footprint.
“I hate to see it gone,” said Amadeo DiNardo, 88, a 1939 Sharon High graduate, who was out running errands on the chilly Tuesday morning.
Wiley, who was having breakfast at Niko and Lou’s in downtown Sharon, said he’ll be sad when the building is no longer standing, but said he hopes things work out well for the community.
He said he worries about senior citizens and future generations on the hook to pay for the school.
“As far as I’m concerned … with the economy the way it is, I think the money could well be used elsewhere,” said Wiley, adding that he wasn’t being critical of the school board and was speaking “respectfully.”
Other folks out and about Tuesday morning weren’t quite as politically correct about spending $20 million on another school building.
When Daronica Cozart, 33, of Sharon, heard how much the board planned to spend on a new building she said, “Wow. I think that’s a lot of money.”
“That’s nuts,” said Duchess Pope, 26, of Sharon, who rents and said she’d think twice about buying a home in Sharon if the real estate taxes keep climbing to pay for the new building.
“They don’t need it,” said Wilberta Ganzy, a Farrell native who moved to Sharon in recent years because of the senior apartments available.
When asked about the pricetag of a new school, DiNardo matter-of-factly said, “You’ve got to spend money.”
Ms. Ganzy, 72, who stopped by the Korner News Stand, noted that people are leaving the area because there aren’t many jobs available. And fewer residents means fewer kids going to school.
Levio Baldarelli III, 22, of Hermitage, said he hadn’t heard about the school board’s decision but thought the best move would be building a new school in the parking lot behind the current building so the district wouldn’t have to bus Case students somewhere else.
Baldarelli was having breakfast with his father, Levio Baldarelli Jr., 62, who also lives in Hermitage but runs a business in Sharon and owns a number of rental homes.
The elder Baldarelli said he agreed with school director John Outrakis’ opinion — he was one of seven members who voted to keep the school at its current location — and that moving the elementary school to the Hermitage line, a proposal favored by board President Melvin Bandzak, would be “foolish.”
Harvey Newby, 71, of Sharon, said he understands that they need a new school for the kids, but wondered if the Case Avenue site was the best place for it.
“Is there enough room for a school that big?” he asked, suggesting maybe officials ought to consider a complex that could hold all the grades.
Some people in the Shenango Valley are proponents of consolidating school districts, as most schools have been losing students over the years and that trend is expected to continue.
“They need to merge with someone,” said Ms. Ganzy.
Wiley also said he thought Shenango Valley school districts ought to look into merging.
“What do you have to lose?” he asked.
Newby, whose grandchildren attend Sharon schools, said he didn’t think merging districts was necessarily the answer to the problem.
DiNardo said a lot of people don’t like the idea of sending their kids to another town for classes.
Ms. Cozart said she thinks merging Sharon and Farrell schools is a “bad idea.”
“The kids don’t get along,” said the clerk at The Hot Spot.
That rivalry will make it harder on teachers in the classroom, said Ms. Cozart, who rents.
Ms. Pope, who is a newspaper carrier, agreed.
“I don’t think it’s a good idea,” she said, noting that there’ll be more kids to deal with and there’s a “lot of differences” between them.
Transporting the students to schools farther away would also be an issue. Right now, the majority of Sharon and Farrell students walk to school.
A man walking in downtown Sharon who refused to give his name said that while a new school may be needed, officials need to use common sense in making such decisions.
“Face it — Sharon has probably the largest percentage of people living here (in the Shenango Valley) that are retired,” the lifelong resident said.
He noted that the Case Avenue building, which was built more than 85 years ago, is probably one of the most structurally sound in the area.
Investigating a consolidated district “should be top priority,” he said, adding that sports fans and administrators concerned about their paychecks are probably the biggest obstacles for such a move.
While merging school districts may not be the right way to go, he said maybe school directors should look at combining some buildings within the districts.
He said the population is dwindling so that will mean fewer students in the coming years.
Another man having breakfast at Niko and Lou’s counter who didn’t want his name in the paper noted that if the Case building had been properly maintained over the decades, perhaps such drastic measures wouldn’t be needed now.
