AP

Witnessing an economy that remains on life support, we have already seen an Italian village for sale on eBay, but now you can buy your own school!

The Associated Press reports that The Learning Center, a Langhorne, Pennsylvania high school for troubled students, has listed up on eBay for $600,000 (for whatever reason, the listing has since been removed).

A tongue-in-cheek listing describes the alternative school for at-risk teens as “pre-owned” and “slightly used.”

The winner won’t own the facility, which is part of the Neshaminy School District. But he or she will get a plethora of goodies, including a naming opportunity, a free large pizza, a personalized school coffee mug and the chance to deliver a speech at graduation.

Not to mention the satisfaction of “delivering an education to a group of kids who could really use it,” according to the ad.

The school has faced budget worries following a couple of teacher strikes this past year. The school board has stated that they will not be able to meet the union’s demands.

Further details explain that this may have just been more of a publicity stunt. A horrible, embarassing, shameless publicity stunt.

The idea came from recent graduate Casey Young, who knows a bit about unusual auctions: His dad, a writer, tried to sell their family on eBay in 2003. The ad was eventually yanked because the company prohibits selling human beings, but the stunt received a lot of publicity.

“We did it as a lark,” father Steve Young told The Associated Press on Monday. “Casey seems to have turned this into something that will result in something positive.”

The reality is that our society is not far off from having to sell schools. We already have municipalities defaulting on private bank loans across the country. Pretty soon those banks are going to be wanting some collateral.

Tags: Coffee, eBay, Education, Italy, Pennsylvania