By Don Rutledge
FPS Associate Editor
May 19, 2009
Two longtime supporters of the speech and drama program and musicals at Carrollton High School addressed members of the Carrollton Board of Education May 12 regarding proposed changes at Bell-Herron Middle School next school year.
Speaking on behalf of parents, boosters, other supporters of academics and extra-curricular activities, were Dr. Rob Miller, a parent of four children, and Gerald Guthrie, whose son and daughter both were involved in the speech and drama department while students at Carrollton High School
Miller asked why Bell-Herron Middle School needs a cafeteria and asked the board to leave the stage intact.
Guthrie, a past president of the Fine Arts Booster Club, said the goal is to inform the school board and administration of the previous commitment made by a forward thinking administration and school board in respect to the Bell-Herron auditorium.
Guthrie said the overall District Fine Arts plan in the late 1990s was to add a Fine Arts section to the high school, which was done in 1999 - to add a Middle School gymnasium and to convert the old middle school gym to a dedicated auditorium.
“That was a gentlemen’s agreement which means we agree to do this,” Guthrie added, and encouraged the board to keep that foresight of the previous board.
School officials provided minutes from a 1998 Board of Education meeting in which the board approved a recommendation of former School Supt. Michael Maiorca to spend between $1 and $2 million on the first phase of a plan for short and long-term facility needs.
Guthrie said the Bell-Herron gym project become a community project that included donations of materials and thousands of hours by carpenters, electricians and community members.
As a result of this community pride, Guthrie told the board the community now has a stage that is used over 25 weeks per year.
“The effective dismantling of an overall progressive and forward thinking previous school board and administration’s implementation of a vision is not in the best interest of the long term goals and needs of Carrollton Schools,” he said as he began to conclude his presentation. “Taking the heart of a sorely needed auditorium/performance facility away from community and students would demoralize all parties involved. Keep the agreement your predecessors saw as a vision. Don’t further alienate a community against our school system. Only through cooperation can we move forward for a common goal - to educate our children and prepare them for the future.”
The board did not respond to either Miller or Guthrie’s presentations.
Proposed changes at the Middle School for next year include eliminating the extended stage and placing a freezer, ovens and sinks along one side of the stage.
They said this will allow Bell-Herron students to be fed pre-packaged lunches on the gym floor.
They claim the changes are for safety reasons so students do not have to cross 3rd St. to eat in the school cafeteria.
Later in the week, Assistant Superintendent Rob Mehno provided the FPS with a tour of the facility. He said nothing definite has been decided and they are open to suggestions from constituents regarding the proposal.
Mehno said several options are being considered.
“We are trying to make the best compromises for everyone involved,” Mehno said.
Fine Arts Booster Club members are now asking community members to become involved and contact school board members and the administration with their views on the proposal.
The district does not have any plans to begin renovations prior to the end of the current school year. Mehno said he thinks the renovation project is a decision that can be made by the administration and does not require action by the school board. |
