DATE: Thursday, February 27, 1997           TAG: 9702270425
SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY DENISE WATSON, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: NORFOLK                           LENGTH:   83 lines

TEAR IT DOWN OR RENOVATE? SCHOOL BOARD TO DECIDE FATE OF THE 80-YEAR-OLD BUILDING TONIGHT

To ask Pat Stites' third-grade students their thoughts on the future of their W.H. Taylor Elementary School is to ask - and receive - a lot.

They want a new school.

They'll tell you about ``THE BASEMENT,'' where they have to travel from their third-floor classes to use the restroom. There aren't any bathrooms on their floor.

Or ``CHAOS,'' which is the lunchroom, a low-ceilinged room in the school's often-damp basement where they often have ``silent lunch'' - the students have to eat in silence because their voices, reverberating off of the ceiling, produce too much noise.

For this class, the choice of whether to renovate the 80-year-old building or demolish and start anew is easy.

``Tear it down,'' said Emily Brummitt, 8. ``The water in the faucets is always cold. We don't have hot water.''

But the issue for the community and the School Board, which is expected to vote on Taylor's future tonight, isn't as simple. In December, a consultant recommended razing the school and building a new one as the most practical way to serve the students.

For years, parents and teachers have complained about leaking windows, 20-year-old portables, and holding classes in custodial closets because of a lack of space. On Monday, students talked about ``the brown bugs,'' termites that swarmed around the auditorium during a recent chorus practice. Bulletin boards propped against walls covered blistering paint. The constant smell and look of mold and mildew permeated the dank school building.

But the suggestion to raze the 1917 landmark struck a chord in the West Ghent community, pitting some parents, teachers and administrators who prefer a new building against community members who want to preserve and renovate the historic structure.

Building a new school along West Princess Anne Road, which is part of the architects' recommendation, also angered some homeowners who are afraid it would intrude on property buffers, create traffic problems and reduce home values.

``I live next to the property and have lived next to the property quite happily,'' said Glenda McKinnon, a member of the Friends of Taylor group, which formed in support of renovation.

``We want to look at the preservation effort, renovation effort instead of going ahead with the demolition. We feel they don't have a factual basis to make such a decision.''

But school officials believe that they do.

Consultants studied the building for six months before making the recommendation. They estimated that a partial renovation and addition of the school would cost $4.8 million while building a new one would cost $6.4 million.

To completely renovate the building would cost at least $6.5 million and wouldn't take care of many of the structural problems with the school, said consultant John W. Fowler.

When the School Board last month delayed a vote on razing or renovating Taylor, a majority of board members appeared to favor building a new school rather than renovating and expanding the existing facility. Board members have not indicated how they plan to vote tonight.

The school currently has only one classroom that meets state codes and with a complete renovation, 14 classrooms still wouldn't pass state muster since room size couldn't change that much with only a renovation. The renovation wouldn't get rid of the seven different floor levels in the school and it would need ramps and chairlifts to comply with the Americans With Disabilities Act.

There also isn't room for expansion if the school population grows.

The Norfolk Historical Society has written a letter to school administrators and the School Board asking for more study of preservation possibilities before voting to demolish.

The architects involved have children in the school or who have graduated from Taylor and understand the personal connection of the community, they said.

``We went in thinking renovation. We wanted to preserve the school,'' said architect John Tymoff. ``It was a difficult recommendation to make.'' MEMO: The School Board meeting will be held at 7:30 p.m. at the

School Administration Building, 800 E. City Hall Ave. ILLUSTRATION: Color file photo by Motoya Nakamura KEYWORDS: NORFOLK SCHOOLS RENOVATION WALTER H. TAYLOR ELEMENTARY

SCHOOL

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