By Antonio D. French
Filed Wednesday, May 17, 2006 at 7:47 AM
Superintendent Creg Williams has prepared a list of repairs and upgrades he says are needed to bring Cleveland High School up to the level of the school district's modern high schools.
Alderwoman Dorothy Kirner has sent Williams a letter asking him to prioritize the 33 recommended repairs and itemize the cost estimates. While some of the repairs are urgent, she said, others could be put off without interfering with the use of the school. Those may include the running track, motorizing the bleachers, and replacing the auditorium seats with upholstered seats.
Kirner said that she and the Cleveland Alumni Association can begin raising money to pay for the repairs if they have a prioritized list of expenses and a three to five year plan for repairing and reopening the building.
Williams estimated that it will cost $22 million to complete all the repairs on his list, with the new heating, ventilation, and air conditioning system accounting for $10 million of that. Of the remaining $12 million, he said that $7 million is really for "modernizing" the facility, which includes such elements as the running track and new auditorium seating.
Williams has said it may not be worth saving the school because it would cost only $20 million to build a new facility the equal to a repaired and modernized Cleveland. But the new Clyde Miller Academy cost $30 million to build, without a football field or running track. Vashon cost $44 million to build, also without a football field or track.
See the full list of repairs and upgrades at our sister site, www.stlschools.org, home of the St. Louis Schools Watch.
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School Board Members, Aldermen Tour Cleveland on Eve of Important Vote
Alderwoman Dorothy Kirner has sent Williams a letter asking him to prioritize the 33 recommended repairs and itemize the cost estimates. While some of the repairs are urgent, she said, others could be put off without interfering with the use of the school. Those may include the running track, motorizing the bleachers, and replacing the auditorium seats with upholstered seats.Kirner said that she and the Cleveland Alumni Association can begin raising money to pay for the repairs if they have a prioritized list of expenses and a three to five year plan for repairing and reopening the building.
Williams estimated that it will cost $22 million to complete all the repairs on his list, with the new heating, ventilation, and air conditioning system accounting for $10 million of that. Of the remaining $12 million, he said that $7 million is really for "modernizing" the facility, which includes such elements as the running track and new auditorium seating.
Williams has said it may not be worth saving the school because it would cost only $20 million to build a new facility the equal to a repaired and modernized Cleveland. But the new Clyde Miller Academy cost $30 million to build, without a football field or running track. Vashon cost $44 million to build, also without a football field or track.
See the full list of repairs and upgrades at our sister site, www.stlschools.org, home of the St. Louis Schools Watch.
Related Stories:
More Time for Cleveland High
School Board Members, Aldermen Tour Cleveland on Eve of Important Vote
Labels: Schools
1 Comments:
I will be the first to help start raising money to keep Cleveland open and supporting our community, but I have to wonder about some of these "repairs". Do we really need upholstered bleachers that are motorized? Do the kids really need air conditioning? Is a new track necessary, or will the current one do? Other than those items, the rest sound like they are reasonable to protect the structure and the kids, which is of the utmost importance. So, where do we start in raising the $22 million?
5/17/2006 3:02 PM
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