Decatur school board, council considering agreement to demolish Woodrow Wilson school

Jan 31, 2024

DECATUR — The Decatur School District and the city of Decatur have worked out an intergovernmental agreement to demolish the former Woodrow Wilson Junior High and transfer ownership of the city-owned property.

In a news release sent out late Friday, the district said the city would handle demolition of the building and sell the vacant property to the school district for half the cost of demolition.

Once a showplace, Woodrow Wilson Junior High has become an "eyesore," according to local residents, who would like to see the building either refurbished or razed.

Decatur school board President Andrew Taylor said the school, built in the 1930s and closed as a school in 1979, has sat vacant for four decades. It was purchased by an out-of-state investor, but has been abandoned and crumbling since then. The city acquired the property in October.

The school board will vote whether to approve the agreement at its meeting on Tuesday. No plans are yet in place for the property, Taylor said.

"(The use) is undecided right now, but the school district will own the property at the end of it," Taylor said.

The property has drawn vagrants and vandalism in recent years and Taylor said the city and the school district agreed that removing the blight was the responsibility of both bodies.

Deputy city manager Jon Kindseth confirmed that the city purchased the property at 1140 W. Sunset Ave. for $813 from the Macon County trustee in October. Since it was sold for under $25,000, it did not require city council approval.

"We both acknowledge that it's just a nuisance, and it needs to be cleaned up for the neighborhood's sake," Kindseth said. "And we both agreed we need to acquire it, demolish it, get rid of this 20-plus year eyesore and what comes next is still unknown."

The property was owned for the previous 16 years by a New York-based limited liability cooperation. It came under the possession of the county, acting as trustee for the taxing bodies within, earlier this year due to the owners failing to pay property taxes for the past four years.

The county auctions hundreds of these tax delinquent properties annually. Kindseth said that when they saw the Woodrow Wilson site on the list, they said "we can't afford to let ... some out-of-state investor buy this thing again, which is typically who buys a lot of those those auctioned properties."

As a result, the city intervened and worked out an agreement to purchase the property from the county for the minimum price before it went up for auction.

The city council is likely to approve the intergovernmental agreement at its Dec. 19 meeting or in January, Kindseth said.

The site was under consideration recently as a possible location for a new Dennis School.

Then school board President Dan Oakes said the site was removed from consideration amid concerns the building's site was not large enough to accommodate a modern K-8 school.

To obtain enough additional nearby land to allow for parking and play space for such a school would be a long, drawn-out process that could take years due to liens and title issues and the possibility that some of the owners of surrounding homes would not want to sell.

Staff Writers Valerie Wells and Brenden Moore contributed to this report.

1974: Freshman Vince Barnett, a former Decatur MacArthur High School player, is a member of the junior varsity basketball squad at Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville.

1978: Barb Tate, 17-year-old spring graduate of MacArthur High School, continued to leave the field gasping in her wake with a final round of 79 at Scovill Golf Course to capture the championship of the 50th Decatur Herald & Review City Women's Amateur golf tournament with a 54-hole total of 245.

1983: Chris, left, and Mike Woody are identical twins who play for Stephen Decatur High School. Coach Ed Boehm said he had trouble telling them apart, "So I decided to put them both at linebacker. That way I could just yell: 'Hey, Woody.' " Chris leads the team with 74 tackles. Mike is second with 65.

1981: Shelbyville High School receiver Drew Woodruff was on target in the opener against Sullivan. Woodruff nabbed a 60-year touchdown pass from quarterback Trey Cox in the first quarter. It turned out to be the winning score.

1988: Former MacArthur High School band director Bob Kruzan has been a driving force behind a program of putting musical instruments in the hands of students who could not afford to buy or rent instruments. Kruzan asked the Kiwanis Club for help and with Thompson-Kramer Music Co., 22 instruments were donated and repaired. The Kiwanis Club provided $1,000 for repairs.

1982: In February, the day after the Decatur Board of Education voted to close their school, a group of juniors from Lakeview High School painted the words 'LHS lives on forever' on the concrete abutment adjacent to Cerro Gordo Street overlooking East William Street Road. It was meant as an expression of loyalty, however, others thought it was an eyesore. So in April, students showed up to give the wall a solid coat of paint, covering the graffiti. In the foreground is Gary Weeks.

1967: Rich Edwards, left, and John Campbell, right operate TV cameras at Lakeview High School. At the high school, television is more than just viewing educational or entertaining programs. Classes are being videotaped and played back with the aim of aiding teachers in improved teaching methods.

1977: The Eisenhower High School Band was out in force and in full regalia during the Labor Day parade.

1980: Eisenhower High School won the city public school volleyball championship by compiling a 3-0 record. Front row, from left, assistant Coach Rosemary Anthony, Kelly Quinlan, Amy Webb, Margie Simon, Sheri Smith, Coach Chuck Force and Manager Donna Pratt. Back row, Ann Wasilewski, Reeni McElyea, Karen Woolen, Julie DePesa and Lori Boland.

1982: Stephen Decatur High School relay runners will be featured in the girls Area Best track and field meet at Millikin University. The 400, 800 and 1,600 relay groups set school records in winning in the MacArthur district meet. The runners, from left, Susie Hunt, Beth Schumacher, Debbie Schile, Michelle Morthland, Debra Thomas and Earline Allen.

1958: A class in the homemaking department at Eisenhower High School is shown taking a test, with desk chairs scattered in a large room created by opening the folding partitions which separate three classrooms.

1943: Decatur and Pana high school seniors are among those who are being trained in preparation for jobs in war industries in the new program offered at the NYA war production center. Operating lathes in the machine shop at the center are, Lorna Hemphill and Mary Eleanor Dembow, Pana High School. In the foreground, from left are Gerald Moore and Bill Medley, St. Teresa High School.

1984: Linda Kingston, 17; Mark Muschal, 16; and Amanda Harres, 17, prepare for one of the actis for Eisenhower High School's fall talent show, 'Sights and Sounds of '84.' The performance will feature all-student talent.

1962: Students are served lunch at Eisenhower High School. Thirty-one tons of hamburger and two million half pints of milk are just part of the annual grocery order put in for Decatur public school cafeterias. Each school day, more than 4,250 meals are served by 90 women in 17 cafeterias. Helen G. Hill is the cafeteria director who is behind the entire operation.

DATE UNKNOWN: Students work in the forge and blacksmith department at Decatur High School.

1979: St. Teresa High School cheerleaders, front row from left, Tonya Burke, Joanie Yonker and Julie Bollero. Second row: Mary Turner, Kay Turner, Peggy McCarthy and Cathy Kaelin. Not pictured is Heidi Arseneault.

1962: Four Eisenhower High School players named to then Herald & Review All-City Football Squad. From left, Paul Shaw, tackle; Doug Smith, halfback; Carl Hanson, tackle; and Jim Harvey, lineman.

1990: Fighting for the quarterback position at Eisenhower High School are, from left, Julian Watson, Maxie Johnson and Todd Jacobs.

1981: Offensive and defensive backs for MacArthur High School's football team are, from left, Danny Lee, Kyle Risby and Terry Spence.

1975: Matt Tyner, MacArthur High School quarterback, left, gives some instructions to his starting backfield teammates in preparation for the Generals' big game against crosstown rival Eisenhower at Matheson Field. Listening to Tyner are running backs Carl Spence, Zannie Rawls and Art Perkins.

1984: Eisenhower High School's girls bowling team was 11th in the state tournament after an 11-1 record during the regular season. Eisenhower won the sectional tournament with an all-time high six-game score for a Decatur team – 4,908. At top, from left, Lori Holt, Melinda Poe, Barb Wuellner, Darla Henry, Valerie Bonnell; bottom, Sharmil Ford, Linda Wuellner, Carolyn Thommas, Kim Cookson and Julie Boatz. Thommas was 17th individually in the state tournament.

Contact Taylor Vidmar at (217) 421-6949. Follow her on Twitter: @taylorvidmar11.

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