A November 2006 referendum to reuse the school as a combination city hall, police station and other governmental uses missed approval by only 122 votes.

In response, local citizens formed the non-profit Kasson Alliance for Restoration (KARE) in January 2007 to advocate for saving the school.

As part of the settlement the city and KARE partnered to conduct an Historic Properties Reuse Study which was completed in October 2009 by John Lauber and Company.

In August 2011 the KPLBC presented a $4.5 million 20,000 square foot library building plan to the city that called for first demolishing the 1918 School.

Seeing an opportunity to meet its needs for additional space, and also to achieve a stated objective of “develop[ing] or redevelop[ing] the elementary school site to benefit the community and enhance the surrounding neighborhood if [the school district] discontinue[d] use for educational purposes,” the city retained Kane and Johnson Architects of Rochester to complete a Space Needs Study.

The study, among other things, investigated the potential for reusing the school building or site to help meet the city's long- and short-term facilities needs.

KARE was formed as a non-profit organization dedicated to finding a way to rehabilitate rather than demolish the building as well as furthering historic preservation within Kasson.

As a result, KARE sued the city under provisions of the Minnesota Environmental Rights Act (MERA, which protects historic resources) in an effort to halt the demolition.

In the summer of 2007 KARE contracted with Daniel Hoisington to have the school nominated to the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP).

SCHRAC was a nineteen-member advisory committee of area citizens, city officials, and technical experts formed to assist the Lauber Team with the effort.

The City of Kasson subsequently appointed a Citizen Task Force in November 2009 to investigate options for reusing the school.

KARE responded politely to the proposal in a letter dated June 21 stating in summary: a) it was not within KARE's advocacy mission to own and maintain buildings and b) the required planning and coordination with the library board (a huge problem in past efforts) had not yet been done to fully formulate the reuse plan for the building.

KARE stated that no one would sign the proposed agreement/partnership (with a very short time frame) given that the reuse plan was still in its infancy and had not been adopted by the building's owner (the city) or the library board.

Previous space needs studies in Kasson had shown that the city could benefit from a larger library which was housed in a 2,294 square foot building.

In February 2011 the KPLBC announced that they had met with Deb Parrott of the engineering and architecture firm Widseth, Smith, Nolting and Associates.

That option proposed replacing the historic 1918 school with a $4.5 million 20,000 square foot library facility which included 3,000 sq.

On August 12, the Rochester Post Bulletin editorial board stated (quoting): “don’t demolish the school until a firm decision has been made-and funding obtained for whatever structure will replace it”.

An organization called Pathfinders CRM (Robert Vogel) in partnership with the AE firm Widseth, Smith and Nolting were awarded the bid.

Robert Vogel (from Pathfinders CRM, LLC) was selected to work on the EAW in partnership with the Architect and Engineering firm Widseth, Smith and Nolting.

On November 28, 2011, the Minnesota Environmental Quality Board (EQB) announced in their newsletter that the EAW for the historic Kasson School was available for review.

Tom Anderson, Project Manager, Cohen-Esrey expressed interest in reusing the 1918 school as Section 42 affordable housing apartments.

On May 11, 2015 the Kasson Planning and Zoning Commission in a 6–1 vote recommended that the city council approve a conditional use permit (CUP) for the school property to allow multifamily housing on the site.

Before voting, the commission debated how to strike a balance with the citizens and neighbors of the building who opposed the project and those supporting the school's reuse.

The Developer must install a combination fence and natural screening border acceptable to t the Zoning Administrator prior to the issuance of a Certificate of Occupancy 2.

The Developer must provide at least one outdoor, on-site smoking area acceptable to the Zoning Administrator prior to the issuance of a Certificate of Occupancy.

On August 16, 2021, Paul Warshauer, who had previously registered Kasson Historic Properties, (KHP) LLC with the State of Minnesota, signed a purchase agreement for the school.

It was determined approximately $4,000,000 was needed in local investment and additional funding for the project to be viable; a reminder of Sherman and Associates' shortfall.

In later 2021 extending into 2022 various hurdles, including a lawsuit from an unsuccessful bidder and the State of Minnesota's historic tax credit program expiring, prevented the project from moving forward.

On August 28, 2023, Robert (Bucky) Beeman and Hank Friederichs, representing IInvest LLC, signed a $150,000 purchase agreement for the school.

In the spring of 2025, the Acme Tuckpointing & Restoration Company, St. Paul, MN, will conduct the repairs utilizing terra cotta and bricks chosen specifically to conform to the school’s historical architecture.