The desks students used to sit in, computers they used, smart boards they learned from, you name it, it’s all up for grabs in the auctions of Lahser’s supplies.

“The auctions are all online and public through Biddergy.com,” said the coordinator of Physical Plant Services for Bloomfield Hills School District, Ken Vavruska. “A team from biddergy comes in and labels and photographs all the items they want to include in the auction and the potential buyers are able to view the items online, so they can physically see them before they bid.”

The auctions have been a first step in clearing out Lahser and simultaneously helping to raise money for the district.

“The money goes into the general funds for the district. Final totals aren’t out there yet, but, by the end of the first auction we’d raised tens of thousands of dollars,” said Vavruska. “The other part of the auction is just to clear out contents from the building. There is some level of confidence that Lahser won’t be used as an academic institution by our district anymore. So obviously you don’t have a need for tons of desks or supplies like that. So it was kind of a clear out for possibilities of what might happen for the building.”

Much of Lahser’s old supplies were auctioned instead of being transferred to the new high school because they were outdated or unfit for the building goals.

“We had sold some traditional student desks because in the learning communities, now, the old student desks aren’t desirable for the type of instructional spaces we’re designing,” said BHHS Principle Charlie Hollerith.

The technological aims of the new building required new appliances as well, rendering the use of Promethean boards and computer labs unnecessary.

“Unfortunately, technology changes quickly and our Promethean boards were becoming outdated. We have new interactive displays here that have a lot more functionality than what the Promethean boards used to have,” said Hollerith. “Another example are computer labs. We want our spaces to be flexible, so students are able to use technology in any space. This means the technology is mobile, so desktop computers are really became obsolete. There were areas where, quite honestly, to fit our instructional goals, some furniture wasn’t going to fit.”

The first two auctions were held November 17th and December 8th and a third one may be coming.

“There could possibly be a third auction for Lahser, depending on what they make as a final decision for the building use. There is a possibility but it has not been scheduled yet. It hasn’t been dismissed but it hasn’t been scheduled either,” said Vavruska.

While two public auctions have already been held, other schools in the district had first grabs at Lahser’s supplies.

“Originally we were trying to figure out what items we had at that school [Lahser] that could be utilized by other schools, so there was an internal bidding process where schools were able to look at all the items online and then we brought in a moving company and they delivered all these items from Lahser to other schools across the district,” said Vavruska. “I call it a bidding process, but there was no money exchanged. It was just buildings requested items from Lahser that could help them out and we delivered them.”

For Hollerith, the auctions brought closure to his time at Lahser and allowed the school’s memory to live on through others.

“I hope whatever equipment we auctioned off will be valuable to the new owners,” said Hollerith. “For me it was chapters in a book. Lahser was a couple of chapters that I have some very fond memories of, now we’re creating new chapters and it’s pretty exciting. Not many teachers and administrators can say in their career that they got to be part of the design and development and ultimately move into a new building. While I enjoyed the first couple of chapters of my experience in the district, these next couple of chapters are equally exciting and even more fulfilling in a lot of respects.”

As for Vavruska, no matter what the outcome of the auction, whether it be a good profit or an empty school for development, he knows he is doing more than just running an auction.

“Sometimes there’s a lot of it that seems to sell for less than they’re worth and you can’t help but be a little disappointed, but it’s great to see another school get good supplies that they need for a cheap cost. So many other districts aren’t as fortunate as Bloomfield so seeing them get these supplies is always great,” said Vavruska. “The right things got to the right people, that’s why I enjoy doing this.”