Cole, Franklin elementaries' demolition may start soon

Some Boiseans have mixed feelings about the destruction of Cole, which was built in 1888.

Bethann Stewart, Idaho Statesman

August 12, 2009 - Ami Rumble's husband and two of her kids spent several years at Cole, which they loved, she wrote in an e-mail.

But the economy has hit everyone hard, she said.

"I would love to see the main building saved and possibly turned into a museum about Boise's education history," Rumble said. "Just as I've told my kids, there isn't money for lots of extras right now, the School Board is telling us there isn't a financially responsible way to save these buildings. Sadly, I have to agree."

David Barnes went to Franklin in the 1970s, he wrote in an e-mail.

"I have many fond memories of that school, but I think Cole has more historical value for the community," he said. "The Franklin school and property could be used for many things or sold/traded for future property, where the Cole school ... should be maintained as a historical site."

The lowest bid for demolition of both buildings was $306,600, said Boise School District spokesman Dan Hollar. The cost for a new roof alone on the Cole school building was estimated at $290,000, he said.

The company that will demolish the buildings will pull out copper and other items of value, Hollar said. The School District already has removed everything it could use from the two buildings, he said. The district does not have a plan to allow the public to salvage anything from the buildings.

The iconic bell on top of Cole will be used in Grace Jordan or Morley Nelson elementaries in a garden-type setting, he said.

The School District would not release the appraised values of the two sites, even though those values are no longer valid because the market has declined, Hollar said.

Cole sits on 9 acres and Franklin on 8.25 acres, Hollar said.

The history of the Cole property goes back to 1888, when a deed written by farmers Orric and Ella Cole conveyed 2 acres of their land to the trustees of the new School District No. 5.

In his deed, Orric Cole stipulated that the land must be used for a school or would immediately revert to his heir, a son named Orric S. Cole.

Orric S. Cole's 1938 will, in turn, called for the land at the time of his death to go to the Children's Home Finding and Aid Society of Idaho.

In spring 2008, District Judge Kathryn Sticklen ruled that the society had a claim on the land, which was whittled over the years to a little more than 1 acre by the widening of Fairview Avenue and Cole Road.

The district paid $695,000 last year for that piece, Hollar said.

Of the nearly 20 calls the district has received about the Cole and Franklin properties, all but one were interested in bare land, Hollar said.

The one was Anser Public Charter School, which made an offer last year for the Franklin site with the school on it.

"Anser didn't make a reasonable offer," Hollar said.

The charter school has since purchased a building in Garden City.

"Our offer was more per square foot than they got per square foot for West Junior High," said Anser administrator Suzanne Burton. "We thought it was a fair offer. We have no hard feelings."