Neighbors: Renovations to historic school beneficial for community
9:31 p.m. Friday, January 5, 2007
Thursday night, the USD 501 School Board unanimously voted to stop procedures to turn Sumner School into a charter school. But neighbors say that's a bad idea, not only for the students but also the community.
“Boarded up old building and it's really bad looking that way,” said Edna Coyle, supporter of school renovations.
That's what Coyle sees when she looks outside the window at her home near 3rd and Western.
And it just so happens that the old vacant building, with boarded up windows and cracked pain, was at the forefront of ending segregation during the Brown vs. Board of Education case. And many neighbors are upset knowing that this piece of history is going to waste.
“It's a shame that it's not purposeful,” said Christine Grimm, renovation supporter. “It looks like the structure is probably good but just fix the windows and the yard.”
Richard and Christine Grimm moved from the country to Southwest Topeka because they heard the city was working to make improvements in the neighborhood. And though that hasn't happened yet, they say renovating the school would bring new life to the area.
“It's a landmark. It should be,” said Richard Grimm, renovations supporter. “Every time I drive by it's just an awesome looking school.”
Sumner Elementary has been vacant since 1996, and living across the street, Coyle has witnessed the building being a victim of vandals, one reason why she fears for her safety.
“Because you never know whether they'll stop there or if they'll start breaking into houses too,” she said.
But Coyle says that would all come to an end if the school was re-opened as a charter.
“There's a lot of kids that are kind of folded in the cracks at the school system right now that there's not too many kids in one classroom and they don't get the attention they need,” she said.
Neighbors say if the school board doesn't want to turn the school into a charter, it could serve other purposes, such as a recreational center for kids in the neighborhood.
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