School board hears from Neville community on repairs

The community members seemed to be in unison Monday night as they addressed three members from the Monroe City School Board on repairs to Neville High School.

Several community members said it just makes sense, needs to happen and would protect the safety of the children, with no one speaking in opposition to the repairs.

The meeting was organized by Brenda Shelling after she and three others voted against a bid that would have repaired structural damages to the school.

"One of the rumors is that Neville will be going charter," she told the crowd of approximately 50. "That's the purpose of this meeting."

Beth Smith, a teacher at Neville, said the ceiling in her classroom needs serious repair.

"We keep waiting and the damage keeps getting worse," she said. "Since the faculty voted down the charter issue, I have not heard one word about it."

Board member Bill Wilson asked the crowd if they would like to see Neville become a charter school and no one raised their hand. When asked if they believe Neville should stay with the School Board, almost every person in the crowd raised their hands.

Monroe City Council Chairman Ray Armstrong asked Douglas Breckenridge, an architect on the project, if the building as it stands poses a safety risk to students.

"Right now it does," Breckenridge responded.

Shelling said that some of the questions arose because the money for the $8 million budget for the project was approved by the previous board.

"In this case, the Neville project fell under the former board," she said. "The former board also set the budget."

Some members of the public said that when the community voted to accept the bond issue, they were under the impression that repairs to Neville High School came with that bond.

Board member Vickie Dayton shared that same sentiment.

"When they pulled that lever, they thought, 'We're getting that problem solved,'" she said. "I think if the board goes any other direction other than what's been recommended and in budget, we're going to have a situation where we have a divorced constituency again. We never want to go there again."

The other problem is, are we willing to spend $8 million in a crumbling school?" Shelling told The News-Star after the meeting. "We still can correct many of the problems of the school, but we also need to visit maybe even rebuilding Neville. I'm not talking about a whole new structure. ... What we are concerned about is the structure of the building and the cost estimation of bringing it up to standard."

During the meeting, Breckenridge said the scope of the project should eliminate further concerns.

"In my professional opinion, this is a pretty major issue addressing the envelope and the interiors," he said. "That's about it. These actions for these things should take care of it. I don't think you're going to see anything in my lifetime."

Shelling, the only board member who voted against the bid in attendance, said she is not sure how she will vote in the future.

"At this juncture, I cannot stand here and tell you how I will address this," she said.

The next board meeting is July 9.

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