November 17, 2008
The cold didn't seem to faze activists for Blodgett School Tuesday evening. More than 500 people rallied outside the school on the West Side of Syracuse before meeting with City School Superintendent Daniel Lowengard. The protestors demanded renovation promises after years of neglect. "Blodgett will not be forgotten!," they chanted.
Blodgett has been deteriorating for decades, which originally put it as a top priority in a district-wide school construction project. But a recent estimate put its renovation at more than $46 million, more expensive than building a new school. Schools will be divided into priority groups for the project, and this cut Blodgett from schools considered for the "first phase."
'The crowd of protestors packed into Blodgett's cafeteria, holding signs saying "Save Blodgett."
"Tonight's topic- renovate or rebuild?" Lowengard told the group, assuring that Blodgett wouldn't just be abandoned.
But many doubted Blodgett would ever be fixed if not considered a priority of the construction project. "The concern is that it could be ten more years before they get past phase one," said Rev. John Carter after the meeting. Carter is president of the Abundant Life Christian Center in East Syracuse, which organized the rally and donated a $400,000 library to Blodgett in 2001.
Board of Education President Laurie Menkin, stepped up to the microphone to personally promise Blodgett changes. "I'll be on the school board for three more years and I will not leave until this happens," she said.
The Joint Schools Construction Board votes Thursday on which schools will be included in the first phase of renovations.
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