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In spite of objections from a
local group protesting the demolition of an old building on the school
campus, Moss School Officials have continued with their plan to tear down
the old rock Gym. School officials proceeded on Tuesday to demolish the
structure. The gymnasium was built during the Great Depression through the
WPA program.
While members of the Moss Public School System Board of
Education have reported that the building is condemned and needs to be
torn down, many members of the community had rallied to restore the
structure and preserve the history it represents.
"I don't believe tearing the building down will serve
any real purpose." said Danny Simon, a Moss area resident who wants to see
the School Board restore the old gym to its original condition rather than
tear it down. "There are several people in the community who agree with me
and we have done our best to find out why the board will not consider the
idea of restoring the building."
Those area residents have formed a group known as
"S.O.S.", which they say is an acronym for "Save Our Schools."
Members of the group have said they wanted to find a way to save the
building, rather than see it leveled and the area turned into a parking
facility for the school.
Moss Superintendent of Schools Louis Maggia said he
felt the decision by the School Board was the right one because the old
building was no longer safe for student occupation.
"I believe this decision was best for the students and
was best for the school," said Maggia. "That is our first priority. After
discussing our options, the school board members voted to tear the
building down."
The board of Hughes County Commissioners had been
approached by the Moss School Superintendent, asking them use county
equipment to demolish the structure. The group protesting the destruction
of the building attended the meeting to stress their point of view, as
well.
After hearing the arguments from both sides of the
issue, the County Commissioners were reported to have nixed the idea, of
using county equipment to tear down the building, saying that they were,
"not taking any sides in the school district controversy." Reports from
the meeting said the commissioners had too many other projects and could
not release the use of county equipment for the demolition of the gym at
this time.
District Three Commissioner Jerry Martin and District
Two Commissioner Bobby Ray reportedly voted to reject the proposal from
the school district, while District One Commissioner "Butch" Skipworth
abstained.
"I did not feel like this was a matter that the board
of County commissioners should have to decide," said Skipworth. "I feel
like this issue has not been resolved within the community and we should
not be placed in the middle of this controversy."
Skipworth noted that the superintendent had approached
him about the demolition of the building before it became a debate. The
commissioner said he told Maggia that he was willing to do that he could
to help the district with the improvements to the school. Skipworth said
he was not aware of the controversy surrounding the demolition of the
building at that time.
"I told Mr. Maggia that my office was always willing to
help the school district if we can," said Skipworth. "But, I do not
believe the community had resolved this issue at the time. Both sides of
this controversy should have resolved the issue before it was ever brought
to the County Commissioners."
According to the members of the Save Our Schools
organization, there have been bond proposals in the community which have
addressed the project, but those bonds were rejected by the voters of the
school district. Bond proposals require at least 60 percent of the votes
to pass, according to State Statues. The proposals have thus-far failed to
garner that percentage of the popular vote.
Maggia said the voting reflected a majority of the
voters in the district, in spite of the fact that the bond did not receive
the necessary 60 percent of the votes. |