Date: July 12, 2024
RE: Scioto Valley Local School District statement regarding the impending auction for the sale of Zahn's Corner Middle School in Piketon, Ohio
Contact: Wes Hairston, Superintendent
In May of 2019, the Scioto Valley Local School District Board of Education learned that the US Department of Energy air monitoring stations across the street from the Zahn's Corner Middle School detected the presence of radioactive material. Following this detection, the interior of the Zahn's Corner Middle School was inspected, and radioactive material was detected inside the building. The US Department of Energy asserted that this material originated from the 1950's—1960's "stratospheric fallout" from atmospheric nuclear tests and that the contamination levels detected at Zahn's Corner Middle School fell below its own established thresholds for posing a serious risk to human health. This conclusion, however, was analyzed by the Northern Arizona University, who found that the cause of the radioactive material originated from fugitive dust emissions from the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant located near the Zahn's Corner Middle School. Despite the inconsistency of these differing opinions, the Board of Education and its administration opted to close the Zahn's Corner Middle School out of an abundance of caution, as the health and safety of staff and students is of paramount importance.
Since its closing, the Zahn's Corner Middle School has required significant and ongoing maintenance, including utilities, insurance, grounds keeping, and HVAC upkeep; the costs of which are a significant financial liability for the Board of Education, which is a small, rural, public district with limited means. Maintaining an unoccupied building has impacted the ability of the Board of Education to provide the necessary programs and opportunities for its students, As a result, the Board of Education has determined to sell the Zahn's Corner Middle School property.
State law requires that the Zahn's Corner Middle School property be sold at public auction. The Board of Education initiated the first step in the sales process by posting a notice of public auction. The notice indicates that the sale is "AS-IS" and that "additional information concerning the auction of the property including a copy of the Terms and Conditions of Sale (in accordance with and subject to which all bids will be made), and an appraisal of the Property dated May 18, 2023, may be obtained at the School District's administrative offices." One of the documents included in the auction package is the report dated May 6, 2019 issued by Northern Arizona University noted above, regarding the "Source of Neptunium-237 in Air Monitor A41A (Zahn's Corner)." The Terms and Conditions of Sale, appraisal, and the report issued by Northern Arizona University each contain a disclosure of the radioactive material found at the property. Thus, the Board of Education is selling the Zahn's School property with full transparency.
Moreover, the issues surrounding the Zahn's Corner Middle School closure were made public from the outset and have garnered national attention. In its Fiscal Year 2023 budget, Congress appropriated funding to the Board of Education for the construction of a new middle school on the Piketon High School campus in order to mitigate the impact of the closure of the Zahn's School. It is anticipated that a formal groundbreaking for this new school will be held later this summer.