The Carnegie Library building at 300 E. Ludington St., Iron Mountain, now owned by Iron Mountain Public Schools, is up for sale. Built in the early 1900s, the building served as a library for nearly 70 years and later housed the Menominee Range Historical Foundation Museum, until its recent move to Kent Street. (Marguerite Lanthier/Iron Mountain Daily News photo)

By MAGGIE LANTHIER

Iron Mountain Daily News

IRON MOUNTAIN — Iron Mountain Public Schools has decided to place the Carnegie Library building up for sale through Leeds Real Estate in Iron Mountain.

The building was constructed at 300 E. Ludington St. with a gift to the school district from the Andrew Carnegie Foundation, opening on April 15, 1902.

It served as a library until April 16, 1969, when the Dickinson County Library was dedicated a block over. At one time, it housed the offices of the board of education and the superintendent of schools.

The building was sold to the Menominee Range Historical Foundation for $1 on July 6, 1971, with the stipulation that if it ceased to be used as a museum, it would revert back to the school district. Recently, the historical society moved its collection from the Carnegie site to the Dry Building on Kent Street.

The Bedford stone Carnegie building, designed by James E. Clancy in the Neoclassical Revival style, has drawn interest from prospective buyers. With that in mind, school board members agreed recently that a sale would be more practical than trying to maintain and repurpose the structure.

In other business, the board:

≤ Accepted the resignation of William Traber as middle school/high school principal. He has been with the district since 2019. Several people have applied to fill the vacancy, according to Superintendent Jerry Sardina.

≤ Agreed to pay $110 per day for substitute teachers; $77.99 for educational assistants, with $38.96 for a half-day.

≤ Raised the pay for homeschool partnership teachers to $6 per student, up from $5 per student.

≤ Hired Linda Carpenter as the drama club adviser.

≤ Will have VanOss Forestry Services of Crystal Falls examine the school forest and give recommendations on what options are available to the district. VanOss will also work with the Forest Park and North Dickinson school districts.

Marguerite Lanthier can be reached at 906-774-3500, ext. 242, or mlanthier@ironmountaindailynews.com.