Milton-Freewater auctioning school buses

By Sara Schilling, Herald staff writer

MILTON-FREEWATER -- Need a vehicle with enough space for a soccer team?

Mind if it's painted yellow?

Officials from the Milton-Freewater School District want to find people who answer "yes" and "no" -- in that order.

They're auctioning off three old buses and an assortment of other school-related items in hopes of raising cash to help with next year's tight budget.

The auction is 9 a.m. Saturday at the old Seneca building at Southeast Ninth Avenue and Walnut Street in Milton-Freewater. Potential buyers can begin viewing the items at 7:30 a.m.

"We just had a lot of stuff that was stored. We decided to hopefully turn it into money for next year's budget crisis," said Craig Gaines, one of the district's five lead custodians.

It was the custodians' idea to hold the auction. The money will be used to help cover maintenance needs that come up in 2009-10.

The slumping economy has hit school districts across the country. Washington teachers are being laid off and programs are being trimmed as officials deal with hundreds of millions of dollars in K-12 funding cuts from the state.

Oregon schools also are facing state cuts. Milton-Freewater has a projected budget shortfall of $4.3 million for next school year, said Roger Weiler, the district's business manager.

That's a reduction of about 18.5 percent.

Officials still are working on how to bridge that gap. They don't expect the auction to make much of a dent, but they hope it'll raise enough money to help with repairs and other maintenance expenses that come up, Weiler said.

The items to be auctioned off have been declared surplus and are sitting in storage, officials said.

They include:

-- Three school buses from the '80s, a pickup and a Dodge flatbed truck from the '80s and a Chevrolet van from the '70s.

-- A hydraulic truck mount sweeper.

-- Portable basketball hoops and drinking fountains.

-- Commercial kitchen mixers and a commercial dishwasher.

-- Some furniture, construction materials, computer equipment and custodial supplies.

There also are some marching band uniforms, complete with the large hats that players wear as they entertain during games. Gaines said that he thought the uniforms were bought from another school and donated to Milton-Freewater some time ago.

"They're in this warehouse collecting dust," he said.

Most of the items have been well used, officials said. The new owners are responsible for any repairs.

Gaines, who works at Central Middle School in the district, will serve as the auctioneer. He doesn't plan on doing any fast-talking when he takes the microphone.

"I'm not quite into that stuff," he said. "I would just like to make some money for the district.

* Sara Schilling: 509-582-1402; sschilling@tricityherald.com

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Monday, May. 25, 2009

Milton-Freewater auctioning school buses

By Sara Schilling, Herald staff writer