Judge grants two-week stay to pause Keego Harbor elementary school demolition

Keego Harbor — The demolition of a century-old former elementary school in Keego Harbor is on hold again after an Oakland County judge issued a two-week stay.

Judge Phyllis McMillen granted the stay on Wednesday morning to allow a group of activists who are suing to preserve the 104-year-old Roosevelt Elementary School time to file appeals.

The order means the West Bloomfield School District cannot move forward with plans to abate and tear down the the 70,000-square-foot school, located in Keego Harbor. The district wanted to begin preparing the property for demolition in April and has scheduled demolition for June.

Activists, who've formed a community development corporation called Heart of the Lakes, have been fighting for months to save the former school and have the building repurposed. The group sued the district last month to stop demolition.

The group issued a statement praising McMillen's ruling as "a beacon of hope in the fight to preserve the historic Roosevelt building."

"We don't stop and we won't stop until Roosevelt is saved," supporter Jennifer Vasquez said in the statement.

District attorney Tim Mullins was not immediately available for comment.

Derek Howard, who represents the group and four people suing the district, said he is preparing a motion to ask the Court of Appeals for a two-week stay while he also prepares to file an appeal to the same court.

Howard said McMillen ruled on the stay on Wednesday and the order drafted by attorneys from both sides is awaiting her signature on her desk.

On April 3, McMillen denied a motion from the group for a preliminary injunction against the district to stop demolition.

At that hearing, McMillen dissolved the temporary restraining order she had granted on March 22 against the Michigan school district, which had prohibited it from taking any further action to tear down the school and required it to maintain the building in its current condition while litigation was pursued.

In her April 3 opinion, McMillen wrote that "plaintiffs are correct that Roosevelt School is a unique and irreplaceable 103-year-old schoolhouse," and that once asbestos abatement and demolition begin, "the building will be lost and the harm is irreparable."

Her order does not end the lawsuit the organization filed against the school district on March 18.

Established in 1920, the former Roosevelt Elementary has been an anchor for the 2,700-resident Oakland County community of Keego Harbor, supporters said. The colonial-style brick and wood structure sits adjacent to the local police station and City Hall.

The school was closed in 2022 and its students were moved to another building in West Bloomfield schools. District officials have said the elementary school building is unsafe for students, financially irresponsible to maintain on the taxpayers' dime and a potential threat in the competition for future students.

jchambers@detroitnews.com