When Weatherly Borough Council voted last May to accept the Mrs. C.M. Schwab School, tensions ran high.

The mood was much different Monday night as council reconfirmed that vote.They voted 5-2 at a special meeting Monday to authorize the borough manager to buy the 1911 school at a cost of up to $50,000.Closing is scheduled for this week.The purchase will be made without any money from the borough's general fund, thanks to the tireless fundraising efforts of local residents.Councilmembers praised the Schwab School Restoration Committee, who raised about $58,000 in nine months after the borough's vote in May."I know it's not easy knocking on doors and making phone calls, but you did it. You did a good job. The people are proud of you," councilman Joseph Cyburt said.Cecelia Gower and Norman Richie voted against, as they did in May. Richie asked members of the Schwab Committee if they are committed to continue fundraising now that the school will be in borough hands."It's always been in our mission statement that we're going to facilitate it back to public use," fundraising committee member Brian O'Donnell said. "As long as the borough has it, we'll be raising money to do that."Initially, the committee was faced with the daunting task of raising the $200,000 asking price for the building. However, as they solicited donations, they were also working with the bank that owned the property to lower the asking price to $50,000."The excitement has actually grown as it moved forward as it seemed more like a reality, more people have gotten in touch, and we see this as something that's going to continue to grow," Mayor Tom Connors said.Transfer tax and closing costs will bring the total cost of the purchase to about $54,000.The committee originally planned to buy the school themselves, but they decided to transfer the funds to the borough to make the purchase to save on real estate transfer taxes.The school was put up for sale early last year by a bank that foreclosed on its previous owner. The school district sold the building in 1991, after the then-borough council turned down an offer to buy it for $1.