There is good news for residents and natives of Weatherly who want to see the town’s landmark school stay in local hands.

Volunteers say that they are close to a deal to buy the 100-year-old Mrs. C.M. Schwab School from the bank that foreclosed on its previous owner.“We still need the public’s support more than ever,” said Charlie Palermo, a volunteer trying to help save the school. “If you’re sitting on the sidelines waiting to see progress, we’ve made it.”Palermo is president of the nonprofit “Save Our School,” which is in the process of raising funds to help buy the school out of foreclosure.He said that their fundraising efforts have been great up until this point, but they want to get the word out to Weatherly graduates who may have been waiting that now is the time to donate.“We all attended there, we feel it shaped our lives, certainly. The time we spent in that building, for me seventh through 12th grade, were very formative years,” he said.They have been in discussions with the bank that owns the school, and the price for the building has dropped significantly after it was listed for $229,000 earlier this year.“There’s been a significant drop in the asking price. We still need the public to support this in any way possible,” he said. “We can see the light at the end of the tunnel.”The group is hoping to acquire the school and then turn it over to the borough of Weatherly. After a contentious debate over whether they could afford the school, council has agreed to accept it.Palermo said that if the nonprofit successfully acquires the school for the borough, there will be a significant amount of work to be done.The first step would be demolishing the annex on the building, which was built in the 1930s, and has fallen into disrepair.“There’s a lot of work that has to go into the building,” he said. “I think with cooperation between us and the borough, we are the right candidate for it.”