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CORTLAND - It took 132 years, but Lakeview Local School officials got their original investment back Saturday when Cortland Elementary School was bought at auction for $10,000 by a Missouri man.

The buyer, George Duncan, who used a proxy over the phone to voice the only bid on the property, reportedly wants to use the building at Pearl and Park Avenue as a Bible college.

And auctioneer Mike Davis pointed out before bidding started that the buyer was getting the building ''as is and where is.'' He said Lakeview School Board members will finalize the deal at a meeting Monday and a contract will be signed Tuesday.

Closing on the property will be in 30 days.

Asbestos remains inside the old brick school but some of the abatement work has already been done on the plumbing that runs through the classrooms.

''It's actually a liability to us now. We're glad to get rid of it,'' said Robert Wilson, school superintendent, who hopes the district can save $500,000 through decreased staffing and eliminating utility costs and maintenance expenses. He said a deed restriction spells out the building can't be used for any K-12 educational purposes.

The former Bazetta Elementary School, now known as Lakeview Elementary, was selected to remain for students in kindergarten through third grade because it is more handicapped accessible and has more room for expansion.

The district houses grades four through seven in the middle school and eight through 12 in the high school. Wilson said this realignment is due to a drop in enrollment over the last 10 years from 2,500 to 1,950.

The district donated the four-acre playground across Pearl Street to the city for future green space.

''It's sort of bittersweet today since my children were educated here. But it's time to move on,'' school board President Mary Williams said Saturday.

Others from the community recalled their own days in the classrooms, including the music room where a ''Snoopy'' mural still hangs with a signature of Anne Herman, who taught there from February 1977 until June, when the school was shuttered.

Prospective buyers eyed stainless steel kitchen equipment and old-style stadium seating in the balcony of the gym.

Desks and shelving were at a premium. An upright piano sold for $125. Even old computers found buyers.

''An Amish fellow offered us $10,000 for that bell out there,'' Wilson said, explaining the item will remain as a landmark in front of the high school auditorium.

The original $10,000 investment represents the money used in 1877 to build a five-room school known as Cortland Union School. It housed elementary through high school students from most of Bazetta and surrounding townships.

In 1881, there were 28 girls and 14 boys along with 21 non-residents being taught by five instructors and two combined teacher/administrators. In the 1890s, part of the western section of Bazetta Township separated from Cortland to become New Bazetta Local School District, according to a history compiled by Wilson.

The building saw piece-meal additions through the years, including a three-story center section that was added to the Union School in 1923 and a gym with stage, locker rooms and several classroom in 1939. In 1950, north and south wings were completed and in 1995 a new cafeteria, kitchen, shop and music room were added.

The school became an elementary building in 1961 after the construction of Lakeview High School that same year.

cbobby@tribtoday.com