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Meeting to share info on new MLK Middle School
02/10/2011 6:16 AM by John M
The City of Richmond’s Office of Special Capital Projects, along with Richmond Public Schools, will host a community meeting to provide updates and gather additional input on the construction of the new Martin Luther King, Jr. Middle School on February 16, 2011 at MLK from 6-8PM.
The meetings will include the unveiling of preliminary design plans. Parents and residents of the community are invited to attend and share their thoughts. New schools for MLK Middle and Huguenot High are part of the first phase of the Building a Better Richmond – Schools Capital Improvement Program.
If we are building a new school, we should relocate it to a safer area within the school zone. The primary reason people do not want their kids to go to MLK is NOT academics but it is safety. Remember Deshaun Taylor? He was only 14 was killed just a block or two away by a stray bullet on the second to last day of school. We need make sure our schools are in safe neighborhoods and provide adequate bussing.
That was more like a mile, up in Fairfield Court.
And we have our only zoned highschool located there – Armstrong. If you want more people to send their kids to our zoned schools, we must relocate them to safer areas within the our zone. No amount of academic progress can overshadow a parent’s need to keep their children safe.
Where would you propose to relocate both schools?
My first choice would be the old Northside Junior High, however, this location is currently occupied by Franklin Military. Another location would be near the Bill Robinson park. Depending on how far the school zone extends, there may also be space further east or north of Church Hill.
Fulton Bottom would a nice location.
Now is the time to push for more green building, energy conservation, and yes, solar.
On average, Richmond school buildings are used for a hundred years, so its not like the traditional 30 year mortgage/life of homeowner payback/ROI. Also, if we push for solar now, the school will be properly sited for solar exposure in the future when there are even more efficient panels.
Other states, other countries, are MANDATING solar on their schools and municipal buildings for energy savings and disaster recovery. Even during the summer vacations, solar schools are producing energy that can be sold back to the grid. Not everyone in Church Hill can afford solar/battery arrays for their houses, but the school could offer solar energy in a severe outage.
The designers and the City officials might balk and say that they can’t make solar work for now, but press them on it nonetheless, for even if it is not affordable now, it is important that the City plan for it.
The schools don’t need to move. They are not the problem. The people in the neighborhoods are… including some of the students.
As long as the ONLY zoned middle school for Church Hill is located in Mosby Court, we will NOT be able to entice more students to attend. Those that are able to afford it will send their children to private school or use the open enrollment to send their children elsewhere (as long as they have transportation). The location is the problem.
I have to agree with Cadeho…it’s not the location is the neighbors…Mosby Court. IMO it should be torm down…
Shouldn’t it be named after Martin Luther King III?
Actually, I agree with both SEW and Cadeho. Since we cannnot “fix” the neighborhood, I think we should take this opportunity to build a new MLK in a new location.
http://saveourschools-getrealrichmond.blogspot.com/2011/02/about-damn-time-for-long-overdue-rps.html