Saying goodbye to Shawnee

HURON — Ahead of their building's closure, Shawnee Elementary students recently toured their upcoming new home. Several students visited Woodlands Intermediate for orientation. Woodlands fifth and sixth-grade students acted as tour guides during the event. Beginning the 2023-24 school year, Huron Schools' preschool through fifth-grade students will be at the Woodlands Intermediate building; grades 6-8 will attend McCormick Jr. High; and grades 9-12 and the board office will be at Huron High School. Shawnee Elementary, which will host students for classes one final time on Friday, is slated to then close and be auctioned off in mid-July. The bidding starts at $1 million. In March, Huron Schools board members unanimously approved a resolution to officially close Shawnee Elementary. A similar board decision was made in December to go from four campuses down to three after community members gave input at public meetings. The Shawnee building was constructed on Cleveland Road East in 1953 for elementary students, according to the Huron Historical Society. Closing Shawnee Elementary is part of the district's consolidation plan to save on operating costs. By closing Shawnee, Huron Schools is expected to save more than $73,500 annually. Shawnee a special place Shawnee Elementary principal Brian Kucbel provided a statement reflecting on Shawnee's closure. In August of 2008, Shawnee Elementary opened its doors again to students and families. A vision was crafted by Tanny Vonthron and the dedicated and passionate staff at Shawnee. The vision focused on an environment that thrived on positivity and smiles. This foundation continues to be alive each day throughout the hallways and the classrooms. As we close the 2022-23 school year, I find myself reminiscing about the past and how special this building truly is/was to our families. Our great community has helped us celebrate the happy moments and has been there to help us through the challenging times. The memories of Shawnee will be in our hearts forever and will continue to live on throughout our school district. Next year starts a new beginning, and with that comes new opportunities. I'm confident that the foundations of Shawnee Elementary and Woodlands Intermediate will come together to continue cultivating an environment that our community will be proud of at Woodlands Elementary. _ Reach reporter Caitlin Nearhood at nearhood@sanduskyregister.com and follow her on Twitter @CaitlinNearhood