Wednesday November 12, 2008It wasn’t on the agenda, but Blodgett School supporters packed the Syracuse Board of Education meeting tonight trying to save the school. Parents, students and staff waved signs and made speeches urging renovation. Blodgett (above) was one of several Syracuse schools being considered for repair, but now it is in danger of being left out. “It’s disheartening,” said Kerry Read, an English as a Second Language teacher at Blodgett.
Blodgett School was built in 1915 and serves grades K-8 on the Near West Side. It was the number one priority on a list for a renovations project created by the Syracuse City School District in 2001. But this year, project manager Gilbane Construction Company advised the Joint Schools Construction Board it would cost less to build a new school than to renovate it.
The possible abandonment of Blodgett caused anger in its district, which serves some of the city’s poorest students. About a dozen supporters spoke at the meeting in defense of the school. Others waved signs that asked, “How many times can we be forgotten?”
“It’s 46 million dollars (to rebuild) and we only have about 20 million dollars to do it,” Schools Superintendent Dan Lowengard said after the meeting. “That’s why I made the recommendation to get a new school rather than renovate the old one.” Lowengard heads the JSCB along with Mayor Matt Driscoll.
Although board members pointed to the lack of funds needed to renovate, the school board said that no conclusions have been made.
“It’s too early to make a recommendation,” Board President Laurie Menkin said.
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