Jackson group wants more time to save school buildings; Link says it's too far into process

A local group will speak at Tuesday's Jackson School Board meeting to present options for renovation of two historically significant buildings on Jackson High School's campus, one of which is slated for demolition this summer.

The school district, however, unlikely will change its plans, according to the superintendent.

Laura Stroder of Save Historic Jackson High School said the preservation group's aim is to save the buildings by making them safe and functional.

"When we found out part of the deal with Proposition J was demolishing the school, we started trying to figure out ways to save the building," Stroder said.

Proposition J passed in the April election, a bond issue aimed at improving safety, security and functionality of Jackson School District's facilities.

The proposition suggested the demolition of Building A to make way for a new, state-of-the-art facility that would house several classrooms, lockers, a media center and a food-service area that would be ready for the 2018 school year.

Stroder said the group, which has about six or seven core members, discovered many people who voted in favor of Proposition J didn't realize they were voting for the demolition of the old high school.

One suggestion from the group was to explore getting Building A added to the National Register of Historic Places.

"It's within a block of uptown Jackson," Stroder said, which has applied to be added to the National Register as a commercial district. "[It was] also in the time frame, 1920, so we thought it was worth checking to see if it was possible."

Stroder said the group submitted the application and recently received the letter finding eligibility.

"When Prop J was voted in, obviously our group was very happy our schools will get updates and renovations," Stroder said. "With the building, we felt it was still a great candidate for restoration and preservation."

Stroder said the existing building is 6,000 square feet bigger than the proposed new building's 48,000 square feet, which would be an advantage.

"Renovation is not just going in and slapping new paint on the wall," Stroder said. "It's restructuring."

Stroder said Kenny Pincksten of Prestige Development Co. was interested in helping.

"He stands ready to go in and do a thorough inspection," Stroder said, adding the group was told the school district had received only one bid to base its decision.

Jackson schools superintendent John Link said the district has not received any bids, as the bid process has not yet occurred.

"We have received estimates," Link said.

Building A contains asbestos, which must be remediated before demolition occurs, Link said, and the district has a call for bids out.

"We will evaluate bids when we receive them," Link said.

"The train's moving down the tracks and cannot be stopped," Link said.

"We're just asking them to put in a little more time," Stroder said.

Link said delaying the project would mean delaying completion of classrooms needed for the start of the 2018 school year.

"We are moving forward with voter-approved Proposition J, which calls for removal of Building A, and I do not foresee it changing," Link said. "We're too far along in the process with this."

Link said the old Building A "does not fit our needs. Even if we renovate that, we would have to build another building."

Link said the construction and design teams are so far into the project, "we're moving ahead."

Link said the other building Stroder mentioned, the administrative building formerly known as the Lincoln School, potentially could be a candidate for restoration.

Stroder said she put out feelers to see what options were available and found Jason Sides, associate professor of political science at Southeast Missouri State University.

Sides, who has taught a grant-writing course at Southeast, said the renovation project would have some options, depending on how it moves forward.

"Grants help enable a collaborative effort to form, so the cost wouldn't fall directly upon the school board," Sides said.

"Now, a lot of these grants are going to provide funds for other purposes, so the preservation would have to be tied in to promoting financial literacy within the community, creating economic opportunities with community members and so on, for example," Sides said, adding the grants' main purpose would be preserving the building but would offset the cost by promoting programs beneficial to the community as a whole.

Stroder said other possible benefits include bringing more opportunities for retail and other businesses to Jackson, possibly even creating an adult education center, which Jackson does not have.

Stroder and Sides will give a brief presentation at the school board meeting at 7 p.m. Tuesday at 614 E. Adams St. in Jackson.

mniederkorn@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3630

Pertinent address: 315 S. Missouri St., Jackson, Mo.

614 E. Adams St., Jackson, Mo.