By ALLISON WOOD

Staff Writer

LAFAYETTE TWP. — After serving as a school for more than 90 years, children may once again fill the halls of the Lafayette Elementary building.

Township resident Shauna Crocker, who bought the 3.34-acre school complex for $70,000 at an auction Saturday, said she is interested in turning the building into a day care.

“If it got torn down, it would crush me,” said Crocker, who attended the school from kindergarten to second grade and currently runs a day care at her home.

This was the first time she ever bid on anything at auction and said she found the process nerve-wracking.

Above: Cloverleaf Local School District Superintendent Daryl Kubilus (right) offers the final bid of $70,000 during Saturday’s auction of the old Lafayette Elementary School building in Lafayette Township. The winning bidder was township resident Shauna Crocker (center), who attended the event with her brother Caleb Deeks (left). Below: The office of Cloverleaf’s superintendent originally was housed in Lafayette Elementary, where a small crowd gathered Saturday to participate in the auction. (Andrew Dolph | Staff Photographer)

“I’m going by the grace of God,” she said.

Crocker’s bid must be approved by the Cloverleaf Board of Education, which owns the property, at its next board meeting Oct. 7.

Before the auction, Medina resident Ron Voorhees and other former students talked about their memories of the school near the main entrance.

Voorhees showed them his class picture taken in front of the school when he went there in the 1940s.

“The boys’ was on the south side and the girls’ was on the north side,” Voorhees said, remembering the brick outhouses students had to use then.

Voorhees attended the school for six years before moving to West Salem. His father also attended during its days as Lafayette School when it opened in 1915 and was told classes were held in the town hall during construction.

About 50 people, mostly spectators, gathered in front of the school to watch the bidding. Many of them also toured the building before the auction began.

District Superintendent Daryl Kubilus served as auctioneer, telling the bidders it was going to be a slow process since he wasn’t good at talking fast.

During the slow-moving auction, bidder Don Williams of Medina said he was interested in turning the former school into apartments, but dropped out because it would cost too much to renovate.

Lafayette Elementary closed in 2004 after an operating levy failed. It housed students from kindergarten to second grade.

The building was originally constructed in 1915, with additions put on in 1949 and 1956.

Wood may be reached at 330-721-4050 or allisonwood@ohio.net.