THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT 
              Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Thursday, August 8, 1996              TAG: 9608080435
SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B3   EDITION: FINAL 
SOURCE: BY TERRI WILLIAMS, STAFF WRITER 
DATELINE: SUFFOLK                           LENGTH:   42 lines

COUNCIL URGED TO DO HOMEWORK ON SCHOOL USE

Members of the Citizens Committee for the Restoration of Suffolk High School urged the City Council Wednesday to think about other uses for the long-abandoned structure.

The council is considering renovating the building and moving the city's social services and health departments there. The three-story, tapestry brick school, located off Freemason Street, opened its doors in 1922. It was closed in 1990.

Many citizens, mostly graduates, say the city should rethink plans and focus on educational uses. School Board offices, art uses or a library would be better for the building, they said.

Barbara McPhail, a 1968 graduate and member of the Suffolk-Nansemond Historical Society, said officials should consider doing what citizens and the council did for Roanoke's Jefferson High School. An alumni group there formed a foundation and raised money to turn the school into a multi-use facility.

For McPhail and others, the school is a city treasure.

``This is a very emotional issue for many members of our committee who graduated from this school,'' Doug Naismith, co-founder of the Restoration Committee, said. ``It's not merely a building.''

Meanwhile, Vice Mayor Charles F. Brown said the city should also consider renovating the East Suffolk High School.

City officials say they'll begin communitywide meetings to find out what citizens want for the school.

``We're not married to the idea of putting social services and the health department there,'' said Mayor Thomas G. Underwood, who graduated from the school.

In other city business, the council and the Suffolk Industrial Development Authority met in a joint session to discuss ways both bodies can communicate better. Authority members say they haven't been included in the decision-making process when the council considers land deals and contracts. The council appointed two of its members to iron out a policy with the authority..

KEYWORDS: CITIZENS COMMITTEE FOR THE RESTORATION OF SUFFOLK HIGH

SCHOOL by CNB