Hundreds attend start of FWCS auction

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) – Hundreds gathered at the former Elmhurst High School building for a loose equipment auction hosted by Fort Wayne Community Schools.

The auction began at 9:00 a.m. Saturday.  It was conducted by The Steffen Group.  Leaders with the Fort Wayne auction company said the large number of people participating caused the auction to go a little longer than expected.

The auction ended around 5 p.m.  According to auctioneers, sales were very strong.  Examples given included shop stools selling for over $200, and a stack of maps going for $1,000.  A total sales figure from the auction was not given.

More than 800 people registered to participate in the auction, and many other people were there to look around the closed school.

Some of the items up for auction included shop machinery, wood working equipment, electronic equipment, desks, filing cabinets and tables. There were also food service equipment items like convection ovens, milk coolers, steam tables and a salad bar.

"The shop equipment, and some of the commercial kitchen food service equipment, those will probably be some of the larger dollar items," Joshua Lewis, the vice president at The Steffen Group, said.

One man said he bought a sander for more than $500.

Many people at the auction had ties to Elmhurst High School.  Ed Crowley used to coach the school's track and field teams, and football.  He ended up purchasing some old sports jerseys, along with a hand saw and a stool. 

"This is really a sad day for me," Crowley said, while wearing his old coaching polo shirt.  "I found myself tearing up a time or two.  I'm sure the administration did the best they could as far as trying to find funds to keep the school open.  These things happen, and it's really a sad thing when it does."

Elmhurst High School closed at the end of the 2009-2010 school year.  It was part of a $14 million budget cut at FWCS.

"Mixed emotions," Danielle Meitzler, a 2002 Elmhurst graduate, said.  "It's sad on the one hand, because you never want to see your school close.  On the other hand, it's part of life and you just go to move on in some instances."

"There is a large amount of T-shirts and band uniforms and things that may have had special meaning to people who went to Elmhurst. They may want to come out and purchase some of those items because this is probably it for those items," Krista Stockman, a spokesperson for FWCS, said earlier in the week..

Athletic equipment, stage props, weight room equipment and a golf cart were also up for grabs. All the money brought in goes to FWCS's general fund which is used to pay salaries and purchase classroom supplies.

People at the auction hopes all the money raised will be spent wisely.

"Help out in general with any of the kids learning and any way they an re-invest it and better children's lives," Meitzler said.

"I look at Elmhurst as helping the other schools now," Sharon Scrogham, who graduated from Elmhurst in 1960, said.

Bidders were able to register as late as Saturday.

People were also able to bid online from a select 90 items through BidSpotter.