School E-mail April 19, 1996

Return to School e-mail archive directory

Subj: BMS Decision
Date: 96-04-19 05:21:25 EDT
From: James.C.Klagge@bev.net (James C. Klagge)
To: school issues@vt.edu

Friends,

I've become increasingly attracted by the compromise option recommended by the FUSS committee of building a new middle school on the same site. The main reservation about that seems to be the wastefulness of throwing away the current building. This is what I mainly want to address.

People have talked a lot about the Wal-Mart mentality of moving out of town, consuming and commercializing or increasing the value of more open space, and leaving behind an unused and perhaps unuseable building. I strongly agree with these concerns. I would like to suggest the metaphor of the Harris-Teeter mentality, instead. Harris-Teeter recognized the importance and value of a space in Blacksburg, and also recognized the worthlessness of the building. They torn it down, and threw it away, and started over. It was a "sound" building, but it wasn't economically viable--it wasn't worth remodeling. No one made a big fuss about what a shame it was to throw away a sound building. Perhaps this was helped by the fact that the building stood vacant for so long and that proved to people that a sound building can be economically non-viable. Roses is beginning to prove itself sound but economically non-viable in the same way. We could build a new middle school elsewhere in the pious hope that the building would ultimately be used because it is sound--as a senior citizen center, as an elementary school, etc. These are theoretical possibilities--but what is the reality? The reality is--who is going to sink the money into it, given enormous problems and costs, to make it useable? I believe if we abandon the middle school there will be some attempts to put it to some use, and finally a realization that it is a (sound) white elephant. The land will be sold, and a smart developer will tear it down, like Harris-Teeter, and start over. Then we will have lost the downtown location and the building both.

To some people this means that we really just need to expand and renovate the building as it is. First, this is extremely unpopular among those most closely associated with the school--teachers, students, parents, administrators, PTA, and the FUSS committee. These people's support would be crucial to any bond referendum. I think we could make renovation work. But is it worth it? All the reasons why no other outfit would take over and use an abandoned middle school are also good reasons why we shouldn't insist on making it work for ourselves. Being a public body that doesn't have to directly worry about cost-benefit analysis, we could go ahead and renovate the building without worrying about whether it is worth it. But I think we should be more financially careful than that. There are MANY things wrong with the middle school. The roof leaks, the heating is not reliable or efficient, the lay-out is wrong (with too-small cafeteria and auditorium), etc. There really isn't anything positive about it except its location and its physical (but not economic) soundness. I have not heard anyone claim it has any historic or sentimental value. Nothing justifies renovating it--either for a school, or for other purposes. I believe cost estimates for renovation are low--partly because the needs are so serious, and partly because we cannot foresee and predict how extensive are the problems we will encounter. This will not be an "average" renovation for which "average" per square foot costs for renovation can be employed.

All these considerations make the building a white elephant for anyone, not just for the school system. Let's go for the Harris-Teeter mentality--recognize that we have a good site, acknowledge that we have a bad building--and start over from there. I agree it sounds bad to throw away a building, but I think we can get past that. I think we'd have to make a strong case--to the supervisors and to the voters--that sometimes a building can outlive its usefulness. No one fussed when Harris-Teeter threw away a building. And I think throwing away a building is preferrable to encouraging further development in outlying areas of Blacksburg. The more we put on the outskirts of town, the more we will increase land values there, and the more growth we will be encouraging there. And we will be encouraging the degradation of the very landscapes that make us love Blacksburg so much.

The board will be making a decision on this tonight at 5pm. I'm going to vote for the compromise option of building a new building on the current site, and I hope I can get a majority to go along with me on the board. I also hope that whatever option we end up recommending we can get the whole community behind us. I hope we can all agree that doing something about the middle school is better than doing nothing; and that doing something is more important than what-thing we do.

Thanks for all the thoughtful input I have received on this issue.

-Jim Klagge.

p.s., There will be a public hearing Tuesday April 30th at Christiansburg HS to discuss the budget situation, particularly where you think we should make almost $4 million in cuts out of our proposed budget. Hope you'll participate.

email: admin@gisone.com