Douglas County officials are looking to give Grant School new life, both as a township meeting hall and storage depot for old documents.

Douglas County commissioners said Monday they would be willing to consider using the rural school building, which closed as an elementary school in May, for storage of old court files, tax documents, election ballots and other county paperwork.

County officials already have made plans to spend at least $500,000 next year to boost the county’s storage capacity, but that decision was made before officials started thinking about the possibility of using an existing building already owned by taxpayers.

The Lawrence school district has offered to sell the building for $1 to officials in Grant Township for use as a meeting hall. But Craig Weinaug, county administrator, said the township wouldn’t have enough money – or the need – to use and maintain all of the space.

By using the school, he said, the county may be able to help meet its own storage needs while lending a hand to the township and school district at the same time.

“I would hate to see us build a building for several hundred thousand dollars, and then a few months later find out that we could have used all or part of an existing building that would have cost a lot less,” Weinaug said.

Grant School, at 1853 E. 1600 Road north of Lawrence, was closed in May after enrollment dwindled to 39 students. County commissioners are eyeing the former school to meet a need for more storage space.

But commissioners stopped short of agreeing to buy into using other school buildings as storage warehouses. At least for now, they refused to be drawn into the bitterly divisive discussion about closing neighborhood schools in Lawrence – including Centennial, East Heights and Riverside schools – as part of a potential $50 million bond issue to consolidate district operations.

“I’m not interested in being an owner, or a part owner, of a boarded-up school in a neighborhood to be used for storage,” Commissioner Bob Johnson said. “We’ve all driven through cities where schools are closed and boarded up, and that’s horrible.”

¢ 6News video: Commissioners discussing plans for Grant school¢ Celebrators bid Grant farewell (05-25-02)¢ Read about plans to close other Lawrence schools

Instead, commissioners say they would be willing to be a part of a “community” solution for use of such buildings in Lawrence, should they become available. Such discussions would include input from officials from the city, county and school district, plus representatives of residents who live in neighborhoods surrounding any schools that would be closed.