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Subj: Middle School
Date: 96-04-24 09:55:21 EDT
From: James.C.Klagge@bev.net (James C. Klagge)
To: school issues@vt.edu
Voters,
You may have read in the Current this morning that some of the supervisors expressed strong qualms about the compromise position on the middle school recommended by the school board. (The three supervisors quoted indicated they could not support tearing down the building, and a majority may have been willing to support renovation.) Indeed, some school board members had warned this would occur. The supervisors took no official action, pending further study of the issue. Among other things, this gives those who support the compromise a chance to express their views to the supervisors.
I can sympathize with these qualms, since I myself have supported each of the three options at one point or another. The trick is finding a way to unite the community behind one option. I don't think these supervisors are thinking in those terms. This issue has been very divisive among people in Blacksburg--perhaps it is even as divisive as the smart road has been. If this issue goes onto a ballot (which is not at all certain) it will need a unified community to support it. A community split is likely to defeat it (as Roanoke County did). Some of you who supported our recommendation may be satisfied with renovation, and hence willing to go along with the supervisors here. But if renovation splits the support gained by the compromise, it endangers the prospects of ultimately getting a majority on the ballot. I hope our steadfastness on the Riner site will stand us in good stead here. The community really turned out to support what the supervisors seemed unwilling to do, and we ultimately got the 40 acres. The only hope for the compromise proposal at this point seems to be a strong public showing in its favor. I would say speaking at Public Comment time at supervisors meetings is the most effective. They meet on the 2nd and 4th Monday of each month in the County Courthouse building in the center of Christiansburg, and public comment is at 7pm, limited to 3 minutes apiece. You can also write a letter--I suggest one addressed to all the supervisors, enclosing 7 copies so that each can receive a copy, and sent to Box 806, Christiansburg, VA 24073. Or you can call your supervisor:
I am providing this information, and encouraging your input, not primarily because I want you to support the compromise, but because I want you to make your views, whatever they are, known to the people who make these important decisions. That's the only way democracy can really work.
I have some comments on aspects of the middle school debate as it has proceeded to far:
Some of the supervisors have made a point that Tech manages to renovate its buildings without tearing any down--why can't we? First, Tech has enough space to be able to move people out of buildings that undergo major renovation (e.g., Squires, Major Williams). This not only minimizes the impact on education, but also makes the inevitable delays more tolerable. In cases where Tech has tried to renovate while the building remains occupied (e.g., Wallace Hall) the impact has been quite controversial. Finally, when Tech students are dealing with buildings being renovated it is for presumably one class, which meets 3 hours per week, unlike middle school students who will be in the environment more than 30 hours per week.
Some of the supervisors are insistent that the middle school is a sound building. I've already acknowledged that. The issue is whether it can be sufficiently useful for any viable purpose. It is interesting that the issue is not raised as an educational issue (that renovation would be better or even educationally equivalent to other options), nor is it even an economic argument that renovation would be cheaper. (It MAY be, IF cost estimates are accurate. Though sometimes the cheapest option is not the wisest.) It is just a symbolic argument--"It sounds bad!" I don't know how you deal with that, except with other symbols: Harris Teeter tore down a building for good reason. K-Mart left behind a sound building, but it's not useful for any viable purpose. Also, someone sent me the following comment on this issue:
"You mention in your letter and at the board meeting that we would be "throwing away" the original building just as Harris Teeter did. May I urge you to talk with Bob Pack who has headed the Leggett's demolition and the rising from the dust of the new HT. Bob and his brother Bill own the shopping center...both are BHS graduates. Bob will tell you that he recycled everything he could from that building...the steel beams, etc. The building wasn't just thrown away.
"I would also like to point out that about the time that the current building is razed and hauled off, the highway department may well be working on the Smart Road and/or the interstate 73 that's slated to come this way. The remains of the building may well be useful for fill instead of paying the $80/ton landfill fee."
Finally, I feel uncomfortable with how this whole issue has been handled by the supervisors. They didn't like the FUSS committees original idea to build a new school on new land so they asked them to consider staying downtown and renovating. When the FUSS committee agreed to the value of staying downtown, but resisted renovating, that is what we recommended. It is hard to see why we have FUSS committees (and there are other examples), if the supervisors are going to ignore their recommendations. Furthermore, all we are really hoping for is to get this on a ballot for the public to be able to decide. I don't understand the position that some supervisors take that they would not even be willing to put this on a ballot. If it is such a stupid idea, it will be voted down. I don't think it is a perfect idea, but it has the virtue of being a compromise that transcended a very divisive situation. I think it can get the unified community support that a bond referendum would need. Why not let its supporters try to show that?
-Jim Klagge
p.s., Jim Moore, supervisor in District A, is doing things with e-mail communication. If you are interested in e-mail communications from and to him about county issues, please contact him at moorej@bev.net
Don't forget the school board public hearing on the school budget on Tuesday, April 30th at Christiansburg HS at 7pm.
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