Bids to be opened for 48-year-old Pecan Island School

• By MARSHA SILLS
• Advocate Acadiana bureau
• Published: Jul 3, 2009 - Page: 1BA

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ABBEVILLE — On Wednesday, Pecan Island School will have a new owner.

That’s when sealed bids for the 48-year-old school building will be opened.

The sale will yield at least $750,000 — the minimum bid allowable for the property.

The 39,000-square-foot school hasn’t been used by the Vermilion Parish School System since Hurricane Rita.

The coastal community around the school was deluged by Rita’s storm surge in 2005. While the building was not flooded, it didn’t stay dry.  Roof damage created mold and mildew problems that have since been remediated to prepare for a  new owner.

The repairs aren’t what kept the school closed though.

Too few students to serve after Rita have kept its doors closed, Superintendent Randy Schexnayder said.

 The school served 50 students in grades Pre-K-12 in 2005. The current area student population is 15.

Students in grades Pre-K-8 now attend Forked Island/E. Broussard Elementary and high-school students attend Kaplan High.

“It was getting to be such an expensive proposition to educate so few kids,” he said.

Security and liability issues that the abandoned building presented also attributed to the decision to sell, he said.

The school was built after Hurricane Audrey hit in 1957. It sits on a high ridge — or island — off La. 82, a location that has saved it from flooding. The site’s been pitched to possible sellers as a camp because of its proximity to White Lake.

The minimum bid was set for $750,000 — not a bad deal when the building also includes a gymnasium, an indoor Olympic-size swimming pool, tennis courts and its own track, said James Noel, of Sunrise Realty, who is handling the listing for the School Board.