Items that filled closed Modesto elementary school head for auction

Stacks of little blue cots, a globe resting in a colorful collar, chairs too small even to perch on — sentimental reminders of Pearson Elementary peek out from stacks of work-a-day discards on a vast, dirt lot.

The Auction Park in north Modesto is where government surplus meets private enterprise, a business born of best guesses gone rusty.

On Saturday, the auction house will sell what's left of the kindergarten-first grade school closed by Modesto City Schools this year, said owner Roger Ernst.

"I hate to see it sell for junk. There are so many churches and schools that need this stuff," Ernst said.

"This stuff" includes most of the inner workings of a school cafeteria — a pizza oven, shrink-wrapping machine, tray racks, freezers and scales. Classroom castoffs include rows of wood-look cabinets, round and semi-circle teaching tables. A well-worn upright piano stands nearby.

A half-dozen working color televisions with recorders, boxed computers that were outdated before they were opened, and an industrial stove might bring a little more.

But a little more in this market is still just pennies on the dollar — plus a 15 percent premium paid by the buyer, according to the Auction Park Web site. In addition, Modesto City Schools will pay a 25 percent seller's fee out of the proceeds, Director of Business Services Dennis Snelling said.

Ernst estimated the lot might have brought the Modesto district $50,000 — minus his cut — in the boom years. This year, he figures it might bring $10,000.

"It's crazy," he said.

Bee education reporter Nan Austin can be reached at naustin@modbee.com or 578-2339.