Fountain City residents celebrate grant to repurpose former East Elementary, urge preservation of historic features

Speaker 1, a Fountain City resident, recounted the history of the former East Elementary — renamed in 1973 for third-grade teacher Ruth Lorraine — and welcomed a recently secured grant to repurpose the long-unused school building for community needs. "It was called East Elementary... then it was named in 1973 for Miss Ruth Lorraine," the speaker said, noting Lorraine taught in the Fountain School District for 32 years and retired in 1974.

The most immediate news from the meeting was the grant that will allow the property to be closed and repurposed. "Getting 1 of these grants is a really long process," Speaker 2 said, adding that "our director did a great job in finding this grant, applying for it, and then we qualified for it." Speaker 2 described years of public meetings and planning that led to the application and the community discussion about possible uses for the site.

Attendees framed the project as both preservation and practical update. Speaker 1 said the building contained pieces worth keeping as part of Fountain City's local history while also calling out sections that have become "an eyesore" and "a problem and an expense to maintain." They described the effort as "bittersweet" but expressed optimism about future development possibilities that could meet community needs.

Meeting participants tied personal memories to the building’s significance. Speaker 1 recalled a family connection, saying, "My mom was teaching here in 1963 in the kindergarten when Kennedy was shot," underscoring the school’s role across generations.

No formal motions or votes were recorded in the provided transcript. Next steps described by speakers included moving forward with the repurposing process and preserving select historic elements; specific timelines, funding breakdowns, and implementation responsibilities were not specified in the transcript.