|
When Brentwood, Pa., resident Ron Yochum heard his school
board's plan to abandon two neighborhood elementary schools and replace
them with an addition to the high school, he was surprised. Yochum,
in his 30s, had attended one of the schools himself. "I remember it
being in excellent condition," says Yochum. "I couldn't understand the
problem."
Yochum decided to get involved. His interest in preservation
was as much professional as it was personal: He is chief information
officer for the Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation. He joined
a group opposing the board's plan to close the schools and was part
of a "Save Our Schools" slate of candidates that ran for and won board
seats in 1995. "The schools were part of our identity and heritage,"
says Yochum. "We
didn't want vacant hulks in the neighborhood."
The fight to preserve old or historic school buildings
is going on all over the nation. Historians, preservationists, and community
activists are concerned that pieces of history are being lost to consolidation,
new construction, deferred maintenance, development pressures, and state
funding policies that favor new construction over renovation. The National
Trust for Historic Preservation, a nonprofit advocacy group in Washington,
D.C., is sounding the alarm. This year, for the first time, historic
neighborhood schools appeared on the National Trust's annual list of
"America's Most Endangered Historic Places." (See sidebar on page 40.)
The National Trust is hoping to draw attention to historic
schools and to persuade districts and school boards to consider preserving
rather than razing them. "These schools are often some of the most valued
buildings in the community," says Rob Nieweg, a National Trust preservationist
and director of the Historic Neighborhood Schools project. "These public
buildings capture the spirit of the community."
Of course, when school boards make decisions about renovations
and new construction, they have more on their minds than historic preservation.
Board members must take into account the cost of renovation, as well
other factors that affect their students, says Dan Fuller, director
of federal programs with the National School Boards Association. "The
boards' charge is to educate kids in the most educationally equipped
and accessible environment," says Fuller.
Nieweg acknowledges that board members face tough decisions
about construction and renovation. The purpose of the National Trust's
historic schools campaign is not to put restoration above the education
of children. Instead, it seeks to make the option of renovation and
restoration at the same level with new construction.
Funding roadblocks
A major roadblock to renovation is state funding policies
that provide money for new school construction but not for restoration
projects. Brentwood came up against Pennsylvania's funding formula when
it tried to start renovating Moore and Elroy elementary schools. The
state would not provide money for renovations on two-story wood-frame
schools, and it would not reimburse districts for renovations that cost
more than 60 percent of what it would cost to replace the school.
Board member Yochum enlisted the help of his organization
and other historic preservation groups in the state to ask the Pennsylvania
Department of Education to change those policies. "If districts want
to keep old buildings, they should have that opportunity," says Yochum.
"They shouldn't be penalized if they want to keep their older buildings."
The wood-frame exclusion was meant to protect schools
from fires, but Yochum says that strategically placed sprinklers could
prevent fires and make the school as safe as a steel-and-concrete building.
"Fire departments love sprinklers," he says.
After two years of lobbying, Yochum and his colleagues
persuaded the state to change the regulations. State Secretary of Education
Eugene W. Hickok agreed to eliminate the wood-frame exclusion and the
60 percent cap. The victory came too late for Brentwood, though. The
district ended up spending more than $1 million replacing the wood frames
in the two elementary schools with steel and concrete to comply with
the old rules. "It's not an issue of money," says Yochum. "It's what's
best for the community." The community did not want empty schools in
their neighborhoods, nor did people want their young children attending
school with middle and high school students, he says.
Several other states have changed their construction policies to
help schools restore or renovate their old schools. Maine now budgets
money for renovation; it previously provided aid only for new construction.
Connecticut reimburses schools at the same ratio for new construction
and renovation. Maryland has a policy that asks schools to consider
renovating their old schools before building new ones.
Concerns and successes
The National Trust has enlisted the help of the Council for Educational
Facility Planners International (CEFPI), which represents school architects,
planners, and construction professionals. The association is considering
rewriting its appraisal guide, used by its members to assess whether
a school building can be successfully renovated to handle technology
and other modern updates. "We can perhaps find a way to modify it
for historically significant buildings," says Thomas Kube, executive
director of CEFPI. "Architects could realistically appraise an old
building and determine if it can still be used as a school."
Technology is an important consideration when school planners evaluate
old buildings. "In some buildings, every time you plug in a computer,
a fuse blows," says Kube. Wiring aside, computers take up room in
classrooms. Kube estimates that one computer takes the space of one
and half students. Older schools tend to have smaller classrooms,
so size becomes an issue.
Nonetheless, Nieweg says, older schools have been updated with technology
and made accessible to the disabled in compliance with the requirements
of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The National Trust is
gathering a bank of school preservation success stories so school
boards and community members can see that it's possible to save old
and historic schools.
Brentwood is one obvious success story. Other success stories include:
•
The George Watts Elementary School in Durham,
N.C. This 80-year-old school was renovated and expanded at a price
equivalent to building a new school of comparable size. The school
community rallied to save Watts when citizens learned that the state
intended to close it because it didn't meet modern standards. The
Durham school board appointed a committee to look for alternatives,
and the committee asked local architects and engineers to develop
a new plan for the school. The restored Watts met state code and remains
a neighborhood school.
•
The Dunbar Community School
in Ft. Myers, Fla. When Dunbar opened in 1927, it was the only secondary
school for African-American children in Lee County. Placed on the
National Register of Historic Places in 1990, the school is an example
of Mediterranean Revival architecture. The Lee County School Board
received a $382,605 grant from the Florida Bureau of Historic Preservation
to remodel the building to maintain its historical significance.
•
Carl Schurz High School
in Chicago. Noted Chicago architect Dwight Perkins designed Schurz
in 1910, and the school is widely considered to be his masterpiece.
The city building commission asked a local architecture firm to restore
Schurz, which had fallen into disrepair. When work was completed in
1996, the costs were lower than building a comparable school.
•
Leinkauf Elementary School
in Mobile, Ala. Alabama's oldest public school still in use, Leinkauf
is the centerpiece of its neighborhood, and the community insisted
that it be rebuilt rather than demolished. The original outline of
the structure was preserved and duplicated inside with brickwork.
Arches, large windows, and stone accents blend with the modern interior,
which meets ADA requirements and houses state-of-the-art technology.
•
Everett High School in
Everett, Wash. Disturbed by the demolition of other historic schools
around Puget Sound, the Everett school board decided to restore Everett
High School, a 1910 Beaux Arts building. The exterior of the building
was restored and the inside modernized. The costs were comparable
to those of the new school in the same district.
Nieweg of the National Trust says the organization has commissioned
research to find out the economic impact of closing historic schools.
For example, what happens to neighborhood property values? Meanwhile,
the group is releasing a report this fall titled "Old and Historic
Schools in the Age of Sprawl." The National Trust hopes the report
and the publicity it generates will persuade school board members
and others to consider renovation and restoration of their old schools.
Emotional issues
Schools, especially older buildings, are often the physical and social
centers of their communities, fondly remembered by generations of
students. The decision to close any school -- historic or not -- inflames
the community. In Brentwood, such a decision led to school board turnover.
And in Atchison, Kan., community groups recently helped quash a bond
issue over a threatened closure.
The Atchison Middle School had been on the National Trust's "most
endangered school list." The Atchison school board intended to close
the school and move the students to another building. Community members
-- including National Trust adviser and longtime Atchison resident
Joan Adams -- objected and organized a campaign to persuade residents
to defeat a bond issue to fund the new construction.
"It was a very hot campaign," says Adams, "well fought on both sides."
The preservationists prevailed, and the middle school remains. Unfortunately,
the nearly century-old middle school needs repairs, and the board
is at an impasse on how to fund construction.
But the relationship between school boards and preservationists does
not need to be adversarial, as Nieweg points out. In fact, there are
school board members like Yochum who are just as interested in preserving
neighborhood schools as residents are. When disagreements arise, the
answer is not simply to proceed with new construction without considering
community history and sentiment. Instead, says Nieweg, "We find common
ground."
Kathleen Vail
is an associate editor of American School Board Journal.
Endangered schools
The National Trust
for Historic Preservation named the following schools as the most
endangered of historic neighborhood schools. According to the Trust,
these schools are or soon will be victims of deferred maintenance,
consolidation, development pressure, inadequate government funding,
policies promoting the construction of schools in outlying locations,
and a preference for new school construction.
• Corning Free Academy,
Corning, N.Y. This four-story brick school was completed in 1922 in
the classical Romanesque Revival style. It occupies a block in the
center of the town's historic district. The school board decided in
1999 to build a new middle school outside the town. Corning Free Academy
did not meet state building guidelines, and the board considered renovation
and expansion too costly. However, community efforts have persuaded
the board to put its plans on hold and appoint a citizen group to
study alternatives and other funding sources.
• Public School 109,
East Harlem, N.Y., and Public School 31, South Bronx, N.Y. Well-known
New York City architect C.B.J. Snyder designed both schools at the
turn of the century. P.S. 109 was built in 1899, P.S. 31 in 1905.
A Collegiate Gothic-style structure visible for many blocks, P.S.
31 was going to be rehabilitated for continuing use as a school. However,
the school district decided to build a new school instead and demolish
P.S. 31. P.S. 109, built in the French Renaissance style, is the only
historic building remaining on its block. Years of deferred maintenance
caused the school to deteriorate, and it, too, may be demolished.
• New Castle Senior
High School, New Castle, Pa. Built in 1910 and located in the National
Register North Hill Historic District, this brick-and-terra-cotta
structure might be demolished to make way for a new school and parking
lot. The high school, an example of Neoclassical architecture, has
served its community for 90 years. Preservationists and community
groups are fighting to stop the demolition.
• Stevens School, Washington,
D.C. Built in 1896, this school is likely to be sold by the school
district because of its deteriorated condition. One of Washington's
oldest surviving elementary "Free Schools" for African-American students,
it was named after abolitionist Thaddeus Stevens. Its neighborhood
is highly desirable for office space, and the school board has received
an offer to purchase the property for redevelopment.
• Alexander II Elementary
Magnet School, Macon, Ga. A neighborhood anchor, Alexander II is one
of the buildings in the Macon National Register Historic District.
The century-old school is one of the only remaining "Alexander" schools
in the city. Named for Elam Alexander, these Free Schools were built
with money from his estate. Georgia's Quality Basic Education Act
does not provide money for renovation and maintenance of existing
schools, and the district intends to close the school and build a
replacement on the outskirts of town.
• Elizabeth B. Warren
Elementary School, Terre Haute, Ind. A school built in the Neoclassical
style popular in the early 20th century, Warren has limestone detailing
on the outside, including an ornamental doorway. It is in good condition,
but it will close at the end of the 2000-2001 school year. School
officials say it doesn't meet the district's academic needs and classroom
space is available at other, newer schools.
• Broadwater Elementary
School, Billings, Mont. Years of deferred maintenance have taken their
toll on this 1909 historic downtown building. The district intends
to close Broadwater and three other downtown schools because of enrollment
decline. Montana has imposed a cap on urban school expenditures. Intended
as a way to create equality between the urban and rural districts
in the state, the cap has hurt historic school restoration.
• Central School, Lead,
S.D. The oldest remaining school in Lead was built in 1914 by the
Homestake Mining Company, owned by William Randolph Hearst. The school
board intends to close Central in 2002 and replace it with a new elementary
school.
• Mitchell Academy Elementary
School, Little Rock, Ark. Designed by noted architect Thomas J. Harding
Jr., Mitchell Academy has a main entrance portico that features four
fluted two-story columns. The school district has constructed a new
building 20 blocks from Mitchell and plans to route its students there.
School officials say that needed renovation and technology updates
would cost more than new construction.
• John Gaw Meem's schools,
Santa Fe, N.M. Built between 1944 and 1953, four schools designed
by New Mexico's most prominent architect might be demolished. The
creator of the Territorial Revival architectural style, Meem drew
on Greek Revival elements and molded them into a distinctive New Mexican
style. Salazar Elementary School, considered too old to be renovated,
is slated to be demolished this month. The other three Meem schools
have been labeled "amenity challenged schools" by the school district.
Officials intend to build one consolidated school to replace them.
• Hillside School, Berkeley,
Calif. Designed by Walter Ratcliff in 1925, Hillside has an auditorium
with a wood beam ceiling, wood floors, and view of San Francisco Bay.
It was listed as a Berkeley landmark in 1980 and was placed on the
National Register two years later. The school board has closed the
school, saying it is located near a fault line and has no seismic
protection. -- K.V.
|
Copyright © 2000, National School Boards
Association. American School Board Journal is an editorially independent
publication of the National School Boards Association. Opinions
expressed by this magazine or any of its authors do not necessarily
reflect positions of the National School Boards Association. Within
the parameters of fair use, this article may be printed out and
photocopied for individual or educational use, provided this copyright
notice appears on each copy. This article may not be otherwise,
linked, transmitted, or reproduced in print or electronic form
without the consent of the Publisher. For more information, call
(703) 838-6739.
|
|
