Marshall Public Schools are making the final arrangements for the 102-year-old Eastwood Elementary School, whose bell will ring for the last time Friday.

At Tuesday night’s meeting, Marshall’s Board of Education accepted low bids for abatement and demolition contracts at the building, before the site is turned over to the city. Supt. Caleb Petet says while several are hoping for a different outcome to preserve the building, those prospects remain slim.

The low bid for both projects came in significantly lower, with Gehm Environmental of Boonville picking up the abatement project for $118,063, while Earthworks Excavating of Higginsville will complete the tear-down for $132,000. The next lowest bids were each about $100,000 more.

School bells will also fall silent at Benton and Northwest schools after this Friday, with contracts for the sale of both buildings approved by the board Tuesday night. Petet says the district expects to close with their buyers next month. In the meantime, the district will begin listing surplus inventory from the three schools online.

Also Tuesday night, the Marshall school board approved next year’s salary packages for certified and classified staff, as well as the district’s new Comprehensive School Improvement Plan for the next five years. A first reading was given to the budget for the next school year. The board also adopted the student handbook for next fall that will ban cell phone use at the middle and high school, even if a bill making such a ban statewide doesn’t make its way to Governor Mike Kehoe’s desk by the end of the week.