Spurred by the threatened demolition of the buildings in downtown Spokane’s Rookery Block, city officials are considering an ordinance governing the circumstances under which historic buildings can be torn down.

A hearing next week will give citizens a chance to comment on the proposal. The session will begin at 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday in the Council Briefing Center, lower level of Spokane City Hall.

The Rookery, Mohawk and Merton buildings range in age from 70 to 114 years old. The owner, Wendell Reugh, once planned to construct an office tower there, but those plans failed to materialize. Reugh subsequently was unable to sell the property. When he took out a permit to demolish the aged buildings and replace them with surface parking, preservationists became active.

In March, the City Council ordered a temporary halt to the destruction of historic downtown buildings to pave the way for parking lots. A task force that was created at the time to develop a permanent ordinance now has a draft proposal that will be the subject of Wednesday’s hearing. It can be read online, along with notes from the task force’s meetings, at www.historicspokane.org.

Spending the education dollar. Have strong feelings about how Spokane Public Schools should use your tax dollars to educate the community’s young people? There’s still an opportunity to make your case before the school board.

The directors will meet at noon Wednesday at the district administration building, 200 N. Bernard. The agenda includes a hearing on, and probably adoption of, a $259.11 million budget for next year. The funding level reflects a $5.3 million reduction in program levels, part of those reductions being determined following public meetings in May.

District spokeswoman Terren Roloff said the district hasn’t heard from anyone with spending recommendations since the May meetings, so she isn’t expecting testimony at Wednesday’s hearing. Still, said Assistant Superintendent Mark Anderson, “You never can tell.”

Anderson recalled that public concerns expressed at the adoption hearing over proposed cuts a year ago resulted in restoration of marching band activities.

By law, the budget must be adopted by Aug. 31, Anderson said.