Wednesday, December 20, 2006

A Flicker of Hope

Recently the Sarasota County Commissioners have begun questioning the school board decision to demolish the Rudolph buildings on the Riverview Campus.

We are pleased that the County Commissioners have heard the community concern (and national and international concern) that we have been able to generate.

An article in the Pelican Press indicates:

Last week, the county commission directed its legal staff to research Florida statutes and determine if there are provisions to block a Sarasota County School Board plan that would replace the 48-year structure with a new one by the autumn of 2009.

"There are a lot of people having heartburn over the Riverview situation," Commissioner Joe Barbetta said. "I heard about it during the recent election. We as a county should request a historic evaluation of that building and not wait until it is too late."

In the same issue of the Pelican is an editorial concerning the current leadership in Sarasota. It specifically addresses issues with City Commissioners in Sarasota. The title of the editorial: "Is Anybody in City Hall Listening?"

We would ask the Sarasota School Board the same question. Is any body listening, listening to the people that live here in Sarasota?

The editorial is based on a recently released citizen survey, and the residents are not happy. They are not happy with the direction that the city has taken. It is not much of a stretch to say that much of the same dissatisfaction resides with recent school board and superintendent decisions.

We are happy that the County Commissioners are tuned in to the residents and have taken steps to review the historical resource value of the Rudolph buildings. Hooray! We applaud these commissioners.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I bet nobody that wants to save Riverview High School has children that attend it! This leaking, moldy, cracked school that leaks raw sewage into childrens lockers needs to go! Come on! What are you really trying to save? This school has been reconstructed so many times it barely resembles the original. Why should Sarasota County Taxpayers continue to pay for this white elephant? Bye, bye Riverview and good riddance!