THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, January 14, 1997 TAG: 9701140208
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JON GLASS, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: 42 lines
Residents will have a chance tonight to help determine the future of W.H. Taylor Elementary School, a 1917-era West Ghent landmark.
The community faces two choices: raze the aging school and construct a new one, or expand and renovate the existing building.
City school officials have scheduled a 7 p.m. administrative hearing in the school's auditorium to gauge public sentiment. The school is located at 1410 Claremont Ave.
The School Board plans to vote on what to do with the school at its Jan. 23 meeting.
``We're going to strongly consider the recommendations and wishes of the community,'' board chairman Ulysses Turner said Monday. ``On the other hand, as a board, we have an obligation to be prudent with public money.''
A consulting engineer last month recommended demolishing the school. A new building would be more cost efficient to construct and better able to provide for modern education technology, the engineer said.
Estimated cost of a new school is $6.4 million; renovating the existing building would cost about $4.8 million, but still require ongoing maintenance, officials say.
While the school's PTA has pushed for improvements for several years, the recommendation to demolish it and start anew has met with mixed reaction. Even though the 80-year-old school is not considered architecturally significant, the emotional attachment for many is strong: Three generations of some families have attended the school.
However, PTA member Nell Armstrong said Monday that the PTA's 18-member executive board recently voted to support construction of a new building.
``We would not want to see the city pouring money into an old building that would continually drain the resources that could be used for other schools,'' Armstrong said.
Mella Goldman, a former PTA president and a member of the three-generation club, said she favors a new building.
``Even in a new building, the Taylor family will feel the same way,'' Goldman said. ``I'm sure the community will rally for what's best for the children of the future.''