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Supporters call for action on George Mason Elementary School

Amid rumors that George Mason ES might be getting moved into the Franklin Military building, supporters from the elementary school showed up at last night’s School Board meeting to draw attention to the physical condition of the school:

Some classrooms at the century-old Church Hill school are sweltering, while children wear jackets in others. Teachers begin their days by wiping rodent droppings from students’ desks, said Ingrid DeRoo, the George Mason site coordinator for Communities in Schools of Richmond.

“Some teachers wear breathing masks all day in order to teach,” DeRoo said of the air quality in what is widely acknowledged to be the district’s worst school building among dozens in need of major repairs.

Back in 2009, the School Board voted to renovate/rebuild 4 schools, with the 5th in line being George Mason Elementary. The four schools directly ahead of George Mason – Huguenot High School, Martin Luther King Middle School, Broad Rock Elementary, and Oak Grove Elementary – have been remade as beautiful, modern schools. It is time to do something about George Mason.