Two Ohio schools will face the wrecking ball after a recent auction drew no bids for the buildings, which will require extensive asbestos abatement.

Neither the Maple Street Elementary School nor the former Orrville Junior High School in Wooster, Ohio, drew bids at the minimum selling price of $125,000 on each school. The Orrville Board of Education instead will demolish the buildings this fall when the asbestos removal is completed. The parcels will be planted with grass until future sales of the sites occur.

Asbestos removal must be finished before demolition to prevent airborne fibers of the hazardous mineral from becoming a health danger to those in the vicinity of the sites. Asbestos exposure is linked to diseases such as lung cancer, mesothelioma and asbestosis.

Also before the demolition, parts of the buildings that are historically significant, such as engraved stones and a carved stone cartouche on the junior high school's front pediment, will be preserved by the school district. Bricks also will be made available to members of the public who wish to have them for nostalgic reasons. School furnishings also were recently auctioned.