MILAN -- A dollar still has lots of value in Milan, where it just purchased a three-story building along with hope for a community's future.
A nonprofit citizens' group known as the Greater Milan Initiative exchanged a 1922 silver dollar for the 49,000-square-foot Milan School building during a ceremony Tuesday.
"An historic day,'' said Bev Struxness, as she emceed the event celebrating the transfer of the building from the Lac qui Parle Valley School District to the local group.
The school district announced its plans to close the building earlier this year. It held 98 students in grades four, five and six during the last school year.
Declining enrollments and the need to make budget reductions led to the decision, according to Rod Weber, chairman of the school board. Although saddened to see the school closed, a group of residents in the community gathered last spring in hopes of finding a way to keep the building in use for the community of just over 300 people.
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"I was amazed and pleased to see the interest the community had right away,'' said Mike Burns, who is now chairman of the Greater Milan Initiative.
He said the building's doors should open before the start of this school year. Plans are already in place to open a day-care center in the facility.
That's just the start. Burns said the group has been meeting with several different businesses interested in leasing space in the building. The group intends to line up tenants to cover the costs of operating and maintaining the building.
Milan residents are looking at taking advantage of their building's fully equipped kitchen to launch a value-added food processing business. Community members and operators of local, community-supported agriculture ventures met Tuesday night to advance the plans.
Meanwhile, Burns said the building will also be available for traditional community uses. The kitchen and gymnasium will be available for spaghetti dinner fundraisers and other types of events.
The school district will maintain a role here too. Weber said the school will continue to use the gymnasium for junior high sports practices. The district also intends to continue offering community education and possibly other services at the site.
The Milan Village Arts School, with a building of its own, intends to take advantage of the greater space available in the Milan School building. It will hold some of its classes in the larger facility, according to Ardie Eckardt, director of the arts school.
Weber described the transfer of the building as a unique educational opportunity for young people. They can watch a community join together to turn what appeared to be a negative into a positive for the community.
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In too many cases, closed school buildings become nothing more, he said.
"We're all seeing many towns with school buildings just sitting there until they rot away,'' Weber said after the ceremony.
"You see similar situations all over the place,'' said Chuck Waibel, a member of the Greater Milan Initiative. "Most of these don't end up with a happy ending.''
He credited the difference in Milan to its people. "Milan hasn't left behind its pioneer spirit,'' said Waibel.
