http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wium/local-wium-945493.mp3
Roseville, IL – It appears Roseville will keep its elementary school after all... sort of.
The building won't be used as a school, but rather a community center. The Monmouth-Roseville school board voted 6-1 this week to transfer the building back to the village.
Roseville Mayor Mike Kirby says there wasn't a lot of interest in the building -- so the transfer makes sense. He says Roseville residents aren't as mad about the building closure as they once were, but using the building for community purposes is a good way to continue to mend sore feelings.
"Like all things, time... time tends to heal wounds," says Kirby. "I think people have decided to move forward and make the most of it."
The former school building is zoned residential, which limits how the building can be used. Kirby suggests that's also part of the reason the district decided to give the building back to the community.
"It would never be used for any industrial process, or noisy things like that," says Kirby.
It's not yet known who will use the future community center. Kirby says those plans will begin to take shape next week.
The Monmouth-Roseville school board elected to close both Roseville and Willits Elementary schools at the end of the last school year in an effort to save roughly $330,000. The closures were part of an overall deficit reduction plan designed to save a little more than $1 million.