'It's the heart of the community'; Former Chesterfield student starts petition to pause demo
Kelly Michaels stands by the Chesterfield Elementary School sign at the front of the campus.
Months of debate on whether to demolish Chesterfield Elementary School, which has been vacant since 2018, was settled last month when the Burke County Public Schools Board of Education voted 5-2 to bulldoze the nearly century-old building.
But for those who grew up in the Chesterfield community, the school is more than a historic site or classrooms soaked in nostalgia.
“Chesterfield Elementary was never just a school,” said Kelly Michaels. “It’s the heart of the community.”
That’s one reason Michaels started a petition asking the school board to pause the demolition project.
The other is to make sure the voices of the Chesterfield community are heard.
Michaels attended the school as a child and, while she has great memories of it, the end goal isn’t to keep those memories alive in the old building’s walls.
The goal, she said, is using the site to bring the community together.
Still, Michaels’ love for the school shined through as she shared memories of teachers and a cafeteria covered in students’ art.
“We used to have art contests,” Michaels said. The winner’s art was painted on the walls of what was, at the time, the new cafeteria. “I won my fifth-grade year. It was just a fruit basket, but hey, it may still be there.”
Michaels also fondly recalls her teachers, including the late Oren Frye.
“He had already taught my brother, my aunt, my uncle, (and) my mom. By the time he got me, he was like, ‘Are you going to be trouble?’ And I was like, ‘No, I’ll be good!’” Michaels said with a laugh.
Chloe Button, a 14-year-old rising 10th grader now living in Asheville, attended Chesterfield Elementary until second grade when the school closed.
Button said she used to struggle talking with people and making friends, but the teachers and community were warm and welcoming. She said the people there eased her anxiety with their kindness.
“There were so many things that went on here, and so many happy moments here,” Button said. “It’s sad to see that they (Burke County Public Schools) don’t want to experience more of that.”
THE PETITION
After the school board voted to demolish Chesterfield Elementary on June 27, Michaels knew she had to act.
Michaels created a petition on July 9 via change.org titled, “Pause the Demolition of Chesterfield Elementary School to Allow for Community Repurposing.”
The goal is stated within the title. Michaels wants the process paused for 90 days “so that we have the opportunity as a community to bring in resources, to have people to look at it and hopefully (make it) a community center,” and “survey the community (to) see what the community needs are.”
Michaels clarified that she is not asking Burke County Public Schools to perform any additional surveys of the property.
Requested actions or considerations during the three-month pause are:
Implementing deed restrictions that would prohibit a new owner operating the site as a K-12 school. This addresses the school board’s concerns that it could be bought and turned into a charter school.
Superintendent Mike Swan said at the school board’s June 22 meeting that state statute would prohibit this. By law, the district must make the property available for a charter school to purchase if interest is shown.
Working with the Board of Commissioners to evaluate if Burke County can “assume ownership of the site for public parks, emergency services, or community use.”
Putting the property on the market as it is with the aforementioned deed restriction.
The petition states that while it is the Board of Education’s responsibility to protect public school funding by preventing a buyer from turning the property into a charter or private school, “destroying a (91)-year-old community landmark without exploring non-educational preservation options is a disservice to Burke County taxpayers.”
The petition had 188 signatures as of Friday morning. Michaels intends to present it at the Aug. 3 school board meeting.
Michaels emphasized that she appreciates what the school board members do, and how they have fought for and won more funding for schools — but the Chesterfield community should have a place at the table when the fate of its old elementary school is discussed.
WHAT LED UP TO THIS?
Chesterfield Elementary School’s doors swung open for its first classes in 1935.
It closed permanently in 2018 at the recommendation of former Superintendent Larry Putnam because the cost of upkeep was so high.
Students were transferred to the newly constructed Mountain View Elementary School, and now, Chesterfield costs the district about $15,000 per year in maintenance fees.
The old building has been a topic of discussion since December 2025, when Superintendent Mike Swan presented a demolition estimate of about $246,000.
Michael Watts of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices said the estimated selling price of the property, with the building is about $372,000. Without the building, it could sell for about $380,400.
Board members Sonya Rockett and Reid Beck were against demolition.
Rockett noted that demolishing the school and selling the land would net the district about $134,000 compared to the $372,000 if the building is sold as-is.
Financial Officer Keith Lawson said it would not necessarily be a loss, as the net gain would still be close to $135,000.
Swan and Board Chair Tiana Beachler were concerned about a charter or private school purchasing the building. According to Lawson, the district would lose about $3.5 million in state funding over a five-year period if a new charter or private school was established there.
Rockett argued, “I just don’t think that we’re being good stewards of the school (district)’s money, to spend $250,000 to tear a building down.”
Beck shared Rockett’s concerns and suggested trying to sell the property as-is before revisiting the idea of demolishing it in one year.
Board member Leslie Taylor said the demolition estimate would be null by then, and the district would have to obtain another estimate.
Ultimately, the majority voted for demolishing Chesterfield Elementary. The only opposition came from Rockett and Beck.
